Space Suit Science Supported by: As far as we are aware all images in this presentation are public domain unless otherwise stated Science Oxford logo © Science Oxford UK Space Agency logo used with permission Astronaut line drawing released under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial license This document is updated regularly please check back to see if you have the most recent version. Current version – 1st September 2014

Why do astronauts need space suits? What do people need to survive? What is space like? When do they use them? Astronaut Image used under license

Need to create similar conditions to being on Earth

Oxygen Just like a diver under water, an astronaut needs a supply of air/oxygen to breath. It is likely that when thinking about space suits that pupils will focus principally on the supply of air/oxygen to the astronaut. As well as supplying oxygen, it is also important to remove the carbon dioxide as too much carbon dioxide is dangerous and could kill people.  

By getting pupils to consider what space is like they might also realise that a spacesuit needs to keep the astronaut warm/cool. Pupils often imagine that space is always cold, but if astronauts are in direct sunlight the external temperature can be very high indeed. According to NASA, for astronauts in Earth orbit the temperature might vary from -150˚C to +120˚C depending on whether astronauts are in direct sunlight or not. Image: "20050501 1315 2558-Bimetall-Zeigerthermometer" by 1-1111 - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20050501_1315_2558-Bimetall-Zeigerthermometer.jpg#mediaviewer/File:20050501_1315_2558-Bimetall-Zeigerthermometer.jpg Temperature

The idea of pressure being important may be unfamiliar to your pupils The idea of pressure being important may be unfamiliar to your pupils. On Earth, we always have the air pushing on the outside of our skin, but in space there is no air to push on the skin. If you didn’t have a space suit providing pressure then the astronaut’s body would swell up (NB in spite of what it says in science fiction stories, skin is strong enough to stop people ‘exploding’ in space). Pressure

Protection from micrometeorites Astronauts may be hit by bits of space dust or ‘micrometeorites’ (much smaller than the meteorites shown on this stamp). Although these are very small, they are often travelling very fast so could potentially damage the astronaut or spacesuit if they hit it. As a result, the outside layer of a spacesuit is designed to protect astronauts from damage caused by micrometeorites hitting or ‘impacting’ them. Protection from micrometeorites

Protection from radiation The sun produces radiation that can hurt people. We know that even on Earth if we stay out in the sun too long that we can get sunburn from a type of radiation called ultra-violet (UV) radiation. We can protect ourselves from this radiation with sun cream/sun block. Spacesuits are also designed to protect astronauts from radiation, but if high radiation levels are expected, astronauts avoid leaving their spacecraft if at all possible. Protection from radiation

Different layers of the spacesuit Cooling layers Pressure layers Thermal Micrometeorite Garment Other parts Oxygen tanks (and CO2 removal) Communications equipment Drinking water / emergency food To provide all of these functions a spacesuit has multiple layers. These include an inner layer next to the skin that keeps the body cool by piping cold water round it, layers that keep the insulate the astronaut from high/low temperatures, layers to reflect radiation from the sun and a tough outer layer to resist micrometeorite impact. Other things that spacesuit designers need to include/think about: Astronauts being able to see what they are doing Communications Flexibility of the suit

Space Suit Science Competition Your mission: To design an experiment to test some different materials that could be used to insulate an astronaut glove In this investigation we are concentrating on the layer(s) of the spacesuit that provide thermal insulation.

Insulation Insulation can be used to keep things hot OR to keep them cold. Insulators slow down the movement of heat into OR away from objects Cooler Photo – Rubbermaid on flickr NB Insulation slows down the movement of heat. Heat always flows from a hotter object to a colder object. Insulators stop things getting hot by slowing down the heat entering them and they stop things getting cold by slowing down the heat leaving them (rather than, as pupils may believe, slowing down the ‘cold’ entering them).

Materials available for testing Edit this slide to include the materials that you are providing.

Which materials make the best insulators? - How could you test to find out? Are they flexible enough to allow the astronaut to move easily?

Picture prompts to help pupils come up with experiment ideas. Thermometer Ice Hot water bottle Kettle Ice Pack Stopwatch Beaker Sponge cloths (example material for testing) Hot Water Bottle Image: Creative Commons Image:Wärmflasche1.jpg by User:Peng (from Wikimedia)

A good experiment Only change one thing Measure carefully and accurately Record results well Plan what you need Think about safety Don’t be afraid to change things

Things to include on your poster A Title Names of team members / team name Some information about space suits Some information on insulation Which materials you tested How you tested them Why you tested them that way What you found out Anything that surprised you What you would change if you did the experiment again Which material(s) you would use for an astronaut glove