1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,800
Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff from house stuff works dot com, where

2
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:15,040
Speaker 1: smart happens. Hi im mershiall brain with today's question, how

3
00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,920
Speaker 1: do astronauts function in their space suits for hours at

4
00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,680
Speaker 1: a time. Astronauts who spacewalk outside the Space Shuttle and

5
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,360
Speaker 1: the International Space Station can work for up to seven

6
00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,440
Speaker 1: hours in the current space suit, which is also called

7
00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:34,720
Speaker 1: the extra Vehicular Mobility Unit or e m U. The

8
00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,720
Speaker 1: e m U is a marvel of technical achievement with

9
00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:42,040
Speaker 1: a twelve million dollar price tag. Despite the advanced technology,

10
00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:46,240
Speaker 1: though the mechanics used to meet the astronauts basic needs

11
00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:51,640
Speaker 1: for food, water, and waste elimination are surprisingly low tech. First,

12
00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,920
Speaker 1: there's eating. There's a slot in the hard upper torso

13
00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,680
Speaker 1: or h u T portion of the e m U

14
00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:03,000
Speaker 1: for a right paper covered fruit and cereal bar. The

15
00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,600
Speaker 1: bar is designed so that the astronaut can take a

16
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,119
Speaker 1: bite and pull the remainder up. The entire bar must

17
00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,000
Speaker 1: be eaten at once to prevent crumbs from floating around

18
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,759
Speaker 1: in the helmet. However, most astronauts prefer to eat prior

19
00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:18,640
Speaker 1: to the spacewalk and not use this bar. But you

20
00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,959
Speaker 1: can imagine going seven hours without food might be a problem.

21
00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,280
Speaker 1: Then there's drinking. The space suit has an in suit

22
00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,839
Speaker 1: drink bag or i d B, which is a plastic

23
00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,360
Speaker 1: pouch mounted inside the h U T. The I d

24
00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,480
Speaker 1: B can hold thirty two ounces or one point nine

25
00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,200
Speaker 1: liters of water and has a small tube like a

26
00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,240
Speaker 1: straw that fits up next to the astronaut's mouth. The

27
00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,040
Speaker 1: astronaut can move his or her head within the helmet

28
00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,320
Speaker 1: and suck water through that tube. Then there's eliminating waste.

29
00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,080
Speaker 1: Each spacewalking astronaut wears a large absorbent diaper called a

30
00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:58,880
Speaker 1: maximum Absorption Garment or MG, to collect urine and feces

31
00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,120
Speaker 1: while in the space suit. The astronaut disposes of the

32
00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,520
Speaker 1: MG when the spacewalk is over and he or she

33
00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:11,040
Speaker 1: gets dressed into regular work clothes. For more on this

34
00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:13,760
Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot

35
00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,000
Speaker 1: com and don't forget to check out the brain stuff

36
00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,079
Speaker 1: blog on the how stuff works dot com home page.

37
00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:20,880
Speaker 1: You can also follow brain stuff on Facebook or Twitter

38
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:22,880
Speaker 1: at brain stuff hs W