The new suit is also slightly sleeker, allowing a greater range of motion while still protecting the astronauts from radiation, temperature extremes, and micrometeoroids.
The main suit is a pressure garment consisting of a helmet, upper torso, lower torso and a cooling garment.
A new communications system in the helmet replaces the "snoopy caps" the Apollo astronauts wore, which would fill with sweat. Instead of the microphones that would sometimes shift away from the astronauts mouth, multiple microphones are embedded that activate when the astronaut is talking.
To allow for mobility, the upper torso has a new shoulder placement so the astronauts can move their arms in a range of motion, lift objects overhead or reach across their body. The Apollo suits only really accommodated up and down motion, but the new suit provides full arm rotation from shoulder to wrist.
People are also reading…
The lower torso, a new addition, will allow for better bending and rotating at the hips and knees. The so-called "moon boots" are similar to a hiking boot with flexible soles.
One thing remains the same: the astronauts will continue to wear absorbing garments similar to diapers in the event that they need to go to the bathroom during a long spacewalk.
