WEBVTT - How do astronauts function in their spacesuits?

0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:03.800
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff from house stuff works dot com, where

0:00:03.840 --> 0:00:15.040
<v Speaker 1>smart happens. Hi im mershiall brain with today's question, how

0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:18.920
<v Speaker 1>do astronauts function in their space suits for hours at

0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:23.680
<v Speaker 1>a time. Astronauts who spacewalk outside the Space Shuttle and

0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:27.360
<v Speaker 1>the International Space Station can work for up to seven

0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:30.440
<v Speaker 1>hours in the current space suit, which is also called

0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:34.720
<v Speaker 1>the extra Vehicular Mobility Unit or e m U. The

0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:37.720
<v Speaker 1>e m U is a marvel of technical achievement with

0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:42.040
<v Speaker 1>a twelve million dollar price tag. Despite the advanced technology,

0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:46.240
<v Speaker 1>though the mechanics used to meet the astronauts basic needs

0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:51.640
<v Speaker 1>for food, water, and waste elimination are surprisingly low tech. First,

0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:55.920
<v Speaker 1>there's eating. There's a slot in the hard upper torso

0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:58.680
<v Speaker 1>or h u T portion of the e m U

0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:03.000
<v Speaker 1>for a right paper covered fruit and cereal bar. The

0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:05.600
<v Speaker 1>bar is designed so that the astronaut can take a

0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:09.119
<v Speaker 1>bite and pull the remainder up. The entire bar must

0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:12.000
<v Speaker 1>be eaten at once to prevent crumbs from floating around

0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:15.759
<v Speaker 1>in the helmet. However, most astronauts prefer to eat prior

0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:18.640
<v Speaker 1>to the spacewalk and not use this bar. But you

0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:22.959
<v Speaker 1>can imagine going seven hours without food might be a problem.

0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:26.280
<v Speaker 1>Then there's drinking. The space suit has an in suit

0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.839
<v Speaker 1>drink bag or i d B, which is a plastic

0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:33.360
<v Speaker 1>pouch mounted inside the h U T. The I d

0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:36.480
<v Speaker 1>B can hold thirty two ounces or one point nine

0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:39.200
<v Speaker 1>liters of water and has a small tube like a

0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:42.240
<v Speaker 1>straw that fits up next to the astronaut's mouth. The

0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:45.040
<v Speaker 1>astronaut can move his or her head within the helmet

0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:49.320
<v Speaker 1>and suck water through that tube. Then there's eliminating waste.

0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:54.080
<v Speaker 1>Each spacewalking astronaut wears a large absorbent diaper called a

0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:58.880
<v Speaker 1>maximum Absorption Garment or MG, to collect urine and feces

0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.120
<v Speaker 1>while in the space suit. The astronaut disposes of the

0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.520
<v Speaker 1>MG when the spacewalk is over and he or she

0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:11.040
<v Speaker 1>gets dressed into regular work clothes. For more on this

0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.760
<v Speaker 1>and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot

0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.000
<v Speaker 1>com and don't forget to check out the brain stuff

0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:18.079
<v Speaker 1>blog on the how stuff works dot com home page.

0:02:18.400 --> 0:02:20.880
<v Speaker 1>You can also follow brain stuff on Facebook or Twitter

0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:22.880
<v Speaker 1>at brain stuff hs W