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boy in wheel chair playing with shuttle
Space Wardrobe
The spacesuits that today's astronauts wear while on a spacewalk have changeable parts just like a Lego set does.

Astronauts need special clothes to protect them so they can live and work in space. In fact, astronauts need a lot of clothes! They have a special suit they wear during launch and re-entry. It protects them from the changes in pressure that happen when you come and go from space. This suit has a helmet, gloves, and boots. Once in orbit, they wear shirts and pants that are just like the clothes we wear here on the ground. To go outside their spacecraft while they are in orbit, they have a special suit called an "extravehicular mobility unit", or EMU. It has a way to keep the astronaut cool, a headphone/microphone so the astronaut can talk to the Shuttle, oxygen for breathing, and water to drink. If they want to move freely through space, they wear a special backpack called the "manned maneuvering unit" or MMU.

A Mercury Spacesuit
Gemini Spacesuits
A Mercury Spacesuit
Gemini Spacesuits
An Apollo Spacesuit
A Shuttle Spacesuit
An Apollo Spacesuit
A Shuttle Spacesuit

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A Question

True or False

While in space, an astronaut must wear a helmet and gloves at all times.

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The Answer
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The StarChild site is a service of the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), within the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA/ GSFC.

StarChild Authors: The StarChild Team
StarChild Graphics & Music: Acknowledgments
StarChild Project Leader: Dr. Laura A. Whitlock
Curator: J.D. Myers
Responsible NASA Official: Amber Straughn