The Evolution Of The Spacesuit [PICS]

• by Rachel Courtland

In February 2009, NASA signed a contract with an engineering firm to develop spacesuits that could be used on the shuttle's replacement, the Orion capsule. New Scientist takes a look at the evolution of spacesuits over the last five decades, and at some potential designs for the future.

Click here to view the gallery

This spacesuit design was used on the Gemini 9 mission, which launched on 3 June 1966. The suit's legs were covered with a cloth woven from stainless steel fibres, used to protect the astronaut and suit from the hot exhaust thrust of the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU), a propulsion system that included the large backpack. Gemini 9 astronaut Gene Cernan set a spacewalking endurance record of 2 hours and 9 minutes during the mission but was unable to test the AMU because his visor became fogged (Image: NASA-JSC)