Yeah.
NASA had to cancel the planned all-female spacewalk because they discovered that the suit prepped for astronaut Anne McClain was...well.
Too large. It might be that it fit her on Earth and that bit of muscle atrophy that happens in space did it.
Fashion jokes aside, the incident has highlighted that pressure suit fitting is hard.
Right now, the best suits we have, have a solid torso, and that's the part not fitting McClain properly. If the torso isn't snug, it makes maneuvering hard and accessing controls difficult.
For safety reasons, they decided to switch her out for a male astronaut, Nick Hague. Suits have to be prepped for EVA, and there was no time to prep a correct-sized suit.
So, what's the takeaway from this?
It's actually a simple one.
NASA needs better spacesuits. The best suits we have? They're from the shuttle program!
Next generation suits keep being designed and then not made. (Maybe there's a niche here for a commercial company to step up).
Boeing has designed launch and reentry suits, which are a slightly different thing from EVA suits (called EMUs) that are superior to anything NASA has, and NASA may well be purchasing those suits. SpaceX has also designed suits.
But these suits are just backup life support for if you get a hole in your spaceship while launching.
NASA only has 11 of the shuttle era EMUs left. Oh, and we have no surface suits for walking on the moon and Mars, which are also a different thing.
Right now NASA isn't seeking input from outside experts, but if we're going to get boots on the moon...or even keep up activities in low earth orbit.
We need better spacesuits.
Ideally ones that don't come in medium, large, and extra large.
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