The Painful Facts Behind Spacewalk: Far From Glamour's Image

NASA astronaut Cady Coleman spent six months on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2010. His experience of walking in space is not as glamorousally described by Sandra total in the film Gravity. In contrast, Coleman had to face the fact that he was wearing a large and uncomfortable EVA (extravehicular activity) suit.

In his new book, Sharing Space, Coleman tells of the painful process of wearing EVA suits designed for men's size. With five feet and four inches tall, Coleman feels the suit is too big that he can do the 'warnal conservation' in it.

EVA settings consist of several layers of clothing, starting with adult diapers, sports bras, long underwear, and LCVG (Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment). This LCVG has a water cylinder that regulates body temperature while in a setting weighing up to 300 pounds (136 kg). After that, various pads were added to protect the body from the edges of a loud suit.

The process of wearing this suit took about an hour and required the help of a team of suit technicians. While wearing EVA suits, Coleman felt like an Egyptian mummy had just come out of the tomb. Each movement inside this suit is very limited, and requires high focus on carrying out important tasks in space.

During the training session, the astronauts trained for six hours in the swimming pool to simulate conditions in space. After the session is over, they will immediately remove the suit in reverse order and rush to the bathroom.

Coleman often finds himself full of bruises and wounds after removing the suit. His fingers were abrasions and sometimes lost nails due to pressure from EVA suit gloves. Even so, focusing on the task in space makes him feel no such pain while working.

NASA has now redesigned EVA suits to better suit a wide range of body sizes, especially for female astronauts. When the Artemis mission carries the first woman on the moon by 2025, she will wear specially designed suits for their comfort and safety.