View allAll Photos Tagged spacesuits
The portable life support system (PLSS) of the spacesuit was made with LEGO!
The LEGO building instruction of the entire spacesuit including PLSS is available in Rebrickable
| Driver: Sebastien Buemi| Team: Nissan e.dams| Number: 23| Car: IM02| | Photographer: Shivraj Gohil| Event: Ad Diriyah E-Prix| Circuit: Ad Diriyah Circuit| Location: Riyadh| Series: FIA Formula E| Season: 2019-2020| Country: SA|
Kansas Cosmosphere
The SK-1 was the latest in a long line of suits built by Zvezda ("star"), the Soviet Union's leading maker of aircraft pressure suits and ejection seats. The firm built its first pressure suit in 1952-53. Zvezda products orbited Earth before Gagarin's flight. The dogs Belka and Strelka rode in a Zvezda-built container during the second unmanned Vostok test flight in August 1960, and SK-1 suits containing dummies flew two unmanned Vostok flights in March 1961.
Over the course of six Vostok flights that carried cosmonauts, Zvezda continuously improved the SK-1. In 1963, the firm modified an SK-1 for Vostok 6 cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. Her suit, designated SK-2, featured narrow shoulders, glove improvements and other changes.
The First Space Suit
Vostok 1 lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 12, 1961, with Yuri Gagarin on board. The pioneering cosmonaut wore a protective SK-1 space suit similar to the one displayed here. This suit, used for training Vostok cosmonauts, was very likely worn by Gagarin as he trained for his historic voyage into space.
The 51-pound SK-1 suit was built up of layers with different purposes. The orange outer layer made it easy for recovery helicopters to spot the cosmonaut on the ground. Other layers prevented chafing and provided ducts for air circulation. Four layers would keep the cosmonaut warm and dry if he splashed down in icy water. A flotation collar would then inflate to keep him afloat until help arrived. The SK-1 helmet visor shut automatically for launch, reentry, and in case the Vostok capsule lost pressure. Pockets held a pistol, a knife, a radio, and shark repellant.
A Last-Minute Addition
As Gagarin suited up for his historic Vostok 1 flight, someone recalled that U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers had, a year earlier, parachuted into the Soviet territory wearing a pressure suit. If all went as planned, Gagarin would land unannounced in Russia's Saratov farming region. A technician quickly painted "CCCP" on Gagarin's helmet to prevent him from being mistaken for an invading American. The letters, which in Russian stand for "USSR," were later added to other SK-1 suits.
Seen at the National Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC.
The museum gained many valuable artifacts from the Soviet space program when the Cold War ended and many Soviet space program secrets were declassified.
One of the declassified secrets is the Soviet manned moon flight program. Having beaten the US to space, the USSR wanted to keep its lead all the way to a manned lunar flight. The versatile Soyuz spacecraft was redesigned as Zond, to accommodate the longer flights to the moon. And this spacesuit was designed so that Cosmonauts could work on the lunar surface protected from the elements.
The Soviets never got around to a manned lunar flight, however, due to the problems with its heavy rocket, the N1. Four unmanned test launches of the N1 were attempted, and all four were failures, including the second one which ended with the greatest non-nuclear explosion in human history. While the Soviets were going nowhere with the N1, the Americans forged ahead with the Saturn V which never failed, and three weeks after the second N1 exploded, Neil Armstrong set his foot on the Sea of Tranquility. The Soviets eventually switched their focus to space stations and long-term spaceflight.
This developmental suit was manufactured in early 1966 in its original A5-L form. During testing, it was modified by adding ankle and shoulder features that were later associated with A6-L and A7-L suits.
A cliched reflection shot, this time in the visor of an Apollo 11 spacesuit on display in the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California.
Find these sexy new space suits at the 2023 Fandom Con under the Mindgardens Creations store, next to the sim sponsor, Star Mesh Body!
These space suits are rigged to the Star Mesh Body but with a body alpha, anyone can wear it.
About the Star Mesh Body
We hope you will take the time to check out the Star Mesh Body (across the road) as it's one of the BEST bodies in SL and with a talented team of designers, you'll have a plethora of amazing outfits to accessorize it with.
And better yet! If you like your old wardrobe, with the included body conformer, many Maitreya and classic body outfits will be able to fit this body! It's BOM and lel EvoX compatible with more bells and whistles than you can imagine!
Seen at National Air and Space Museum, Washington, District of Columbia.
The full spacesuit kit for Astronaut Eugene Cernan, who flew to the Moon on Apollo XVII in 1972. He was the last man to walk on lunar surface. The kit is complete, except for a life support backpack which was left on the Moon prior to takeoff, to save weight.
This spacesuit is an evolution of the design used by earlier Apollo missions.
| Driver: Oliver Rowland| Team: Nissan e.dams| Number: 22| Car: Nissan IM02|Car: Spark SRT05e|| Photographer: Shiv Gohil| Event: Rome ePrix| Circuit: Circuito Cittadino Dell’EUR| Location: Rome| Series: FIA Formula E| Season: 2020-2021| Country: Italy| Keyword: Season 7| Keyword: Season Seven| Keyword: S7| Keyword: motorsport| Keyword: electric racing| Keyword: single seater| Keyword: open wheel| Keyword: 2021|| Session: Race|
Assorted odds 'n sods connected with my 2001 spacesuit:
I photographed them sitting on the middle section of the backside of the Monolith. You can see the holographic foil in the background.
The stash includes:
- “Spot’s” handles. Two simple aluminium brackets that I cable tiedonto the Monolith to hold it up with.
- “Mother” High Energy drink. Yes, I used a performance enhancing drug! I also needed the empty to stick into the tinny holder I had on the spacesuit utility belt.
- Aussie flag with “Boomeranged” coathanger wire aerial and koala bear mascot. Uh, yeah!
- Harpercollins Voyager 15th Anniversary Party lanyard I used this to tie some extra gear onto th belt.
- A construction running sheet I used to keep track of where I was (or wasn’t!) during the build.
- The zip I didn’t get time to add into the cossie! Yah, that meant I had a limited time in costume before I’d have to get out of it. No big deal, I knew the parade wasn’t go to last longer than I could!
- Music for the skit. AIFF and MP3 formats on two discs. Plus back-up files on a memory stick. (Be prepared! You never know what the house music system will handle. Fortunately it was state of the art first rate, and so were the tech crew handling the audio.
- Costume checklist for loading gear on the day of the masquerade. Absolutely essential to make sure you’ve got all the bits and pieces packed on board!
- Blinky light for the suit’s thrusters. I found these sweet self contained LED flashers that fit nicely in the nozzles on the backpack. Well, I thought they were sweet, but they were all pretty dodgy, wiring wise, and had to be re-soldered at 2.00 am. Not all of them successfully! Oh well, such is life.
- Fly swat. What exactly I expect to swat with them in space I have no idea. Vacuum blow-out flies?
- Mini-Programme book with notional Masquerade start times circled.
- Skit script that I used when recording. Note last minute alterations! What I’d initially written didn’t sound so good when I heard it repeated back aloud.
- Patches for the suit done as iron-on transfers which I didn’t have time to iron on! Farnarkled around with double sided tape and so-on on the night but to no avail. Left ‘em off eventually rather than have them flutter onto the stage. Annoying, but no worries.
- Patches for the backpack; printed out on inkjet paper.
- Tech-looking gadget for the utility belt. This actually came off my old Ghostbusters outfit. Thought it might come in handy again someday!
Kansas Cosmosphere
Artifacts on Display
This Model A7L space suit (DISPLAYED LEFT) was worn by Apollo 15 astronaut Jim Irwin while training as the backup LM pilot for Apollo 12.
This Model A7L-B space suit (DISPLAYED RIGHT) was the backup flight suit for the last man to walk on the Moon, Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan.
The Modular Equipment Transporter (MET) nicknamed the "lunar rickshaw' (CENTER) was a hand-pulled cart used during the Apollo 14 mission to assist in transporting tools cameras and lunar samples on the Moon's surface. This specific "rickshaw" was a flight backup for the mission.
Apollo Pressure Garment Assembly (PGA)
The primary component of the Apollo lunar space suit is an inner Pressure Garment Assembly (PGA). Comprised of a rubber-coated nylon pressure bladder surrounded by two layers of blue nylon, the PGA maintained the internal environment for the astronaut. Flexible joints were located at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees and ankles. The PGA was complete with a set of IV (intervehicular) pressure gloves, boots and a clear "fishbowl" helmet made from super-strong Lexan plastic.
Integrated Thermal Meteoroid Garment (ITMG)
The white, outer covering of the Apollo suit was called the Integrated Thermal Meteoroid Garment (ITMG). It was installed over the top of the PGA and consisted of an outer layer of a woven, fire-resistant glass fiber called Beta cloth. Beneath the beta cloth were 17 additional layers of various insulation materials that provided both thermal resistance and protection against micrometeorites. Completely assembled, an Apollo lunar space suit layers of nine different fabrics. consisted of more than 21 layers of nine different fabrics.
A Change in Style
Two models of the Apollo lunar space suit were used by NASA. The first generation of the Apollo suit, which was used during Apollo 7 through 14, was the Model A7L.
During the last three flights of the Apollo lunar program (Apollos 15, 16 and 17), astronauts drove a small, electric car on the surface called the Lunar Rover. Significant changes in the space suit were required in order to allow the astronauts to sit properly in the vehicle. This led to the development of the more advanced Model A7L-B suit. It incorporated a new flexible joint at the waist to make it easier for the astronauts to sit in the Rover.
The A7L-B also incorporated redesigned pressure joints throughout the suit, as well as changes to the inner IV pressure gloves which greatly added to the suit's flexibility and comfort. Improvements were also made to the LEVA helmet by adding a hard overcap unit that contained an adjustable and retractable light shade to further help shield the astronaut's eyes from the intense sunlight.
The A7L-B continued to be used throughout the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs, and became the primary training suit for the early Shuttle astronauts.
The primary visual difference between the two models of suits can be seen in the placement of the hose connectors on the front of the garments. The A7L connectors were laid out in a symmetrical, square fashion. Because of the added waist joint, the A7L-B's connectors were placed in a diagonal pattern.
JUST THINK... Fully outfitted, an Apollo lunar space suit weighed over 180 pounds. Fortunately, the 1/6th gravity of the Moon made it feel like only 30 pounds.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Soviets developed this space suit for use by a cosmonaut on the Moon. Called Krechet ("Golden Falcon"), it differs from the Apollo space suit in several ways:
- The backpack life-support unit is hinged like a door, allowing the cosmonaut to step into the suit
- Although the arms and legs are flexible, the torso of the Krechet suit is a semi-rigid shell
- The control panel on the chest folds up out of the way when not in use
- The boots are made of flexible leather
Like the Apollo helmet, the Krechet helmet has a gold-coated outer visor for protection from bright sunlight. The life-support backpacks of the two suits are also similar, containing systems to provide oxygen, suit pressure, temperature and humidity control, and communications.
A similar space suit is used by cosmonauts working outside the Russian space station Mir.
Manufacturer: Zvezda
Lent by The Perot Foundation
Modified from Skeleton Trading Cards 098 (http://www.skelecosm.com/ima/thumbs/Skeleton%20Trading%20Cards%20098.jpg)
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Soviets developed this space suit for use by a cosmonaut on the Moon. Called Krechet ("Golden Falcon"), it differs from the Apollo space suit in several ways:
- The backpack life-support unit is hinged like a door, allowing the cosmonaut to step into the suit
- Although the arms and legs are flexible, the torso of the Krechet suit is a semi-rigid shell
- The control panel on the chest folds up out of the way when not in use
- The boots are made of flexible leather
Like the Apollo helmet, the Krechet helmet has a gold-coated outer visor for protection from bright sunlight. The life-support backpacks of the two suits are also similar, containing systems to provide oxygen, suit pressure, temperature and humidity control, and communications.
A similar space suit is used by cosmonauts working outside the Russian space station Mir.
Manufacturer: Zvezda
Lent by The Perot Foundation
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Soviets developed this space suit for use by a cosmonaut on the Moon. Called Krechet ("Golden Falcon"), it differs from the Apollo space suit in several ways:
- The backpack life-support unit is hinged like a door, allowing the cosmonaut to step into the suit
- Although the arms and legs are flexible, the torso of the Krechet suit is a semi-rigid shell
- The control panel on the chest folds up out of the way when not in use
- The boots are made of flexible leather
Like the Apollo helmet, the Krechet helmet has a gold-coated outer visor for protection from bright sunlight. The life-support backpacks of the two suits are also similar, containing systems to provide oxygen, suit pressure, temperature and humidity control, and communications.
A similar space suit is used by cosmonauts working outside the Russian space station Mir.
Manufacturer: Zvezda
Lent by The Perot Foundation
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
During Project Gemini, Dr. von Braun and is team recognized the need for a facility where engineers and astronauts could understand the concept of body motion in conditions where weight is irrelevant, such as you would find in space. Housed at building 4705 at Marshall Space Flight Center, the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator or NBS, was built in order to train those engineers and astronauts how to function in space. This kind of training led to the development of seemingly unimportant things like hand and foot holds for inside the spacecraft and specialized maneuvering units for working outside the spacecraft.
Initially, funding for the facility was denied but the ever resourceful von Braun, realizing the importance of this kind of training, decided to ask forgiveness instead of permission and had the facility built anyway. A sly reclassification of the NBS as a tool instead of a facility allowed funds to be used from the Research and Development budget... and a reprimand from General Accounting for "creative movement of finances.”
In 1968 the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator was completed. The water tank is 75 feet (23 m) in diameter and 40 feet (12 m) deep and holds 1.2 million gallons of continually recirculated and filtered water. In addition to the systems for audio, video and pressure suit control, the simulator is equipped with underwater lighting and electrical power operations of motors, valves and indicators for the engineering mockups and trainers inside the tank. The tank declared a National Landmark in 1985.
On several occasions Dr. von Braun trained in the NBS himself using the same pressure suits and equipment as the astronauts did. This space suit was used by von Braun on one of his dives. Here you can see von Braun preparing for a dive in September of 1968.
| Photographer: Shivraj Gohil| Event: Marrakesh E-Prix| Circuit: Circuit International Automobile Mouley el Hassan| Location: Marrakesh| Series: FIA Formula E| Season: 2019-2020| Country: Morocco|| Session: Race|| Driver: Sebastien Buemi| Team: Nissan e.dams| Number: 23| Car: IM02|
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Soviets developed this space suit for use by a cosmonaut on the Moon. Called Krechet ("Golden Falcon"), it differs from the Apollo space suit in several ways:
- The backpack life-support unit is hinged like a door, allowing the cosmonaut to step into the suit
- Although the arms and legs are flexible, the torso of the Krechet suit is a semi-rigid shell
- The control panel on the chest folds up out of the way when not in use
- The boots are made of flexible leather
Like the Apollo helmet, the Krechet helmet has a gold-coated outer visor for protection from bright sunlight. The life-support backpacks of the two suits are also similar, containing systems to provide oxygen, suit pressure, temperature and humidity control, and communications.
A similar space suit is used by cosmonauts working outside the Russian space station Mir.
Manufacturer: Zvezda
Lent by The Perot Foundation
| Driver: Sebastien Buemi| Team: Nissan e.dams| Number: 23| Car: Nissan IM02| Car: Spark SRT05e|| Photographer: Shiv Gohil| Event: Ad Diriyah ePrix| Circuit: Ad Diriyah| Location: Riyadh| Series: FIA Formula E| Season: 2020-2021| Country: Saudi Arabia| Keyword: Season 7| Keyword: Season Seven| Keyword: S7| Keyword: motorsport| Keyword: electric racing| Keyword: single seater| Keyword: open wheel| Keyword: 2021|| Session: Race|
Kansas Cosmosphere
Artifacts on Display
This Model A7L space suit was worn by Apollo 15 astronaut Jim Irwin while training as the backup LM pilot for Apollo 12.
Apollo Pressure Garment Assembly (PGA)
The primary component of the Apollo lunar space suit is an inner Pressure Garment Assembly (PGA). Comprised of a rubber-coated nylon pressure bladder surrounded by two layers of blue nylon, the PGA maintained the internal environment for the astronaut. Flexible joints were located at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees and ankles. The PGA was complete with a set of IV (intervehicular) pressure gloves, boots and a clear "fishbowl" helmet made from super-strong Lexan plastic.
Integrated Thermal Meteoroid Garment (ITMG)
The white, outer covering of the Apollo suit was called the Integrated Thermal Meteoroid Garment (ITMG). It was installed over the top of the PGA and consisted of an outer layer of a woven, fire-resistant glass fiber called Beta cloth. Beneath the beta cloth were 17 additional layers of various insulation materials that provided both thermal resistance and protection against micrometeorites. Completely assembled, an Apollo lunar space suit layers of nine different fabrics. consisted of more than 21 layers of nine different fabrics.
A Change in Style
Two models of the Apollo lunar space suit were used by NASA. The first generation of the Apollo suit, which was used during Apollo 7 through 14, was the Model A7L.
During the last three flights of the Apollo lunar program (Apollos 15, 16 and 17), astronauts drove a small, electric car on the surface called the Lunar Rover. Significant changes in the space suit were required in order to allow the astronauts to sit properly in the vehicle. This led to the development of the more advanced Model A7L-B suit. It incorporated a new flexible joint at the waist to make it easier for the astronauts to sit in the Rover.
The A7L-B also incorporated redesigned pressure joints throughout the suit, as well as changes to the inner IV pressure gloves which greatly added to the suit's flexibility and comfort. Improvements were also made to the LEVA helmet by adding a hard overcap unit that contained an adjustable and retractable light shade to further help shield the astronaut's eyes from the intense sunlight.
The A7L-B continued to be used throughout the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs, and became the primary training suit for the early Shuttle astronauts.
The primary visual difference between the two models of suits can be seen in the placement of the hose connectors on the front of the garments. The A7L connectors were laid out in a symmetrical, square fashion. Because of the added waist joint, the A7L-B's connectors were placed in a diagonal pattern.
JUST THINK... Fully outfitted, an Apollo lunar space suit weighed over 180 pounds. Fortunately, the 1/6th gravity of the Moon made it feel like only 30 pounds.
JSC2012-E-231434 (30 Oct. 2012) --- NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 35/36 flight engineer, gets help donning a training version of his Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit in preparation for a fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) in the Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Photo credit: NASA
JSC2012-E-231440 (30 Oct. 2012) --- NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 35/36 flight engineer, gets help donning a training version of his Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit in preparation for a fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) in the Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Photo credit: NASA
|Photographer: Shiv Gohil|Event: Berlin ePrix|Circuit: Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit|Location: Berlin|Series: FIA Formula E|Season: 2021-2022|Country: Germany|Keyword: season 8|Keyword: season eight|Keyword: S8|Keyword: motorsport|Keyword: electric racing|Keyword: single seater|Keyword: open wheel|Keyword: 2022|Keyword: May|
|Photographer: Dan Bathie|Event: Rome ePrix|Circuit: Circuito Cittadino Dell'EUR|Location: Rome|Series: FIA Formula E|Season: 2021-2022|Country: Italy|Keyword: season 8|Keyword: season eight|Keyword: S8|Keyword: motorsport|Keyword: electric racing|Keyword: single seater|Keyword: open wheel|Keyword: 2022|Keyword: April| | |Session: race| |Driver: Sebastien Buemi|Team: Nissan e.dams|Number: 23|Car: Nissan IM03|Car: Spark SRT05e|
JSC2012-E-231461 (30 Oct. 2012) --- NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 35/36 flight engineer, participates in an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) in the Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Technicians assisted Cassidy. Photo credit: NASA
iss072e518423 (Jan. 23, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit's reflection is pictured on the helmet visor of a spacesuit in this photograph he took inside the International Space Station's Quest airlock.
The National Space Centre, Leicester. Sokol KV-2 Rescue Spacesuit.
This spacesuit is designed to keep cosmonauts alive if their Soyuz spacecraft suffers a de-pressurisation event. The spacesuit is connected directly to the spacecraft and provides two hours of life support in an emergency. They are not designed for spacewalks outside the spacecraft.
Early Soyuz flights did not require cosmonauts to wear pressure suits. However, after the Soyuz 11 tragedy, when the crew died during re-entry after their spacecraft de-pressurised, the importance of rescue spacesuits was re-thought. The Soviet space programme sought to design a suit that could be worn for launch, landing and docking manoeuvres – the times of most risk. NPP Zvezda was selected to come up with a solution, and rather than adapt pre-existing spacesuit designs, they chose to modify their own high-altitude aviation pressure suits. The Sokol (meaning ‘Falcon’) suit was born, and through its various design modifications it has become the most successful spacesuit of this type.
The National Space Centre’s Sokol suit #155, manufactured by Zvezda in 1990, is similar in size and design to the suit flown by Helen Sharman on Project Juno in 1991 - as she became the first Brit in space. The suit is an authentic, but un-flown, Sokol spacesuit worn by Helen during her training. The suit has been mocked-up for display purposes to look like the one Helen wore in space, by stitching patches of the joint British-Soviet flight to it. The appliqued patches include a Zvezda patch, the Project Juno (Soyuz TM-12) mission patch and a Union Jack. There is also a bi-lingual name label.
The Sokol KV-2 design - where K stands for the Russian word for space and V for the Russian word for ventilation - consists of a pressure garment with hood, radio headset and canvas boots. The pressure suit is made of white nylon canvas, with a rubberised cloth lining (polycaprolactam). It has an attached pressurised hood (rather than a solid metal helmet) with a hinged polycarbonate visor that secures to a blue anodised aluminium clavicle flange. Decorated with royal blue trim and appliqued patches, it has detachable gloves, attached umbilical cords, and attached soled feet. The hoses and cables for electrical, air and coolant lines join the suit at anodised aluminium umbilical interfaces. There is a pressure equalisation valve on the centre of the chest. A support sling wraps from the chest to the back with webbed belts and metal clips. The sleeves have adjustable articulating cables in the upper arm and webbed belt lashings and a pressure gauge on the left-hand sleeve. There are adjustable webbed straps attached to metal rings on the side seams and along the crotch. The suit has a double V-front zip through which the suit is entered and a lace-up crotch covered by a triangular placket. It has pleated knees and has two utility pockets on each leg. The grey canvas boots cover the pressure suit feet. A radio headset is worn under the hood and is made of leather, with a cotton mesh section covering the skull.
IMG_1974
Kansas Cosmosphere
Artifacts on Display
This Model A7L-B space suit was the backup flight suit for the last man to walk on the Moon, Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan.
Apollo Pressure Garment Assembly (PGA)
The primary component of the Apollo lunar space suit is an inner Pressure Garment Assembly (PGA). Comprised of a rubber-coated nylon pressure bladder surrounded by two layers of blue nylon, the PGA maintained the internal environment for the astronaut. Flexible joints were located at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees and ankles. The PGA was complete with a set of IV (intervehicular) pressure gloves, boots and a clear "fishbowl" helmet made from super-strong Lexan plastic.
Integrated Thermal Meteoroid Garment (ITMG)
The white, outer covering of the Apollo suit was called the Integrated Thermal Meteoroid Garment (ITMG). It was installed over the top of the PGA and consisted of an outer layer of a woven, fire-resistant glass fiber called Beta cloth. Beneath the beta cloth were 17 additional layers of various insulation materials that provided both thermal resistance and protection against micrometeorites. Completely assembled, an Apollo lunar space suit layers of nine different fabrics. consisted of more than 21 layers of nine different fabrics.
A Change in Style
Two models of the Apollo lunar space suit were used by NASA. The first generation of the Apollo suit, which was used during Apollo 7 through 14, was the Model A7L.
During the last three flights of the Apollo lunar program (Apollos 15, 16 and 17), astronauts drove a small, electric car on the surface called the Lunar Rover. Significant changes in the space suit were required in order to allow the astronauts to sit properly in the vehicle. This led to the development of the more advanced Model A7L-B suit. It incorporated a new flexible joint at the waist to make it easier for the astronauts to sit in the Rover.
The A7L-B also incorporated redesigned pressure joints throughout the suit, as well as changes to the inner IV pressure gloves which greatly added to the suit's flexibility and comfort. Improvements were also made to the LEVA helmet by adding a hard overcap unit that contained an adjustable and retractable light shade to further help shield the astronaut's eyes from the intense sunlight.
The A7L-B continued to be used throughout the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs, and became the primary training suit for the early Shuttle astronauts.
The primary visual difference between the two models of suits can be seen in the placement of the hose connectors on the front of the garments. The A7L connectors were laid out in a symmetrical, square fashion. Because of the added waist joint, the A7L-B's connectors were placed in a diagonal pattern.
JUST THINK... Fully outfitted, an Apollo lunar space suit weighed over 180 pounds. Fortunately, the 1/6th gravity of the Moon made it feel like only 30 pounds.
JSC2012-E-231441 (30 Oct. 2012) --- NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 35/36 flight engineer, participates in an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) in the Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Photo credit: NASA