Do you Ever notice why astronauts have white and an orange-colored space suit?
Whenever reports regarding a new space mission are covered on television or the Internet, we come across an astronaut’s photo wearing an orange spacesuit. Like this:
But when NASA shares the actual photos or videos of astronauts visiting space or other planets, they are seen wearing a white and a slightly bulky space suit, like this:
But why do you know why astronauts wear different suits?
First things first, there is a proper name for each of these suits. The orange one is the Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) and the white suit is called the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suit.
Firstly, the colors are different and there's a reason behind that.
The orange-colored Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) is the space shuttle ascent and entry suit. It is not just any shade of orange but only the International Orange that is used. This particular color is highly visible against any kind of landscape, especially in the sea.
The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suits are bulkier and white in color. That's because white reflects the strong heat of the sun. Also, it is easily visible against the black expanse of space.
They were both designed for totally different but specific purposes.
ACESs are designed to help astronauts survive in case any accident occurs during the take-off or landing of a space shuttle. The EVAs, on the other hand, are designed specifically for spacewalking.
The orange suit comes with a parachute and even has a knife in case of emergencies.
ACESs (orange) come with a parachute ripcord to rip open the parachute that sits on the astronaut’s back. It even has a knife to cut the parachute cords when an astronaut get stuck.
The white suit has a water cooling system, necessary for survival in outer space.
The water cooling system in EVA suits works on recycled body sweat to keep an astronaut cool in harsh conditions. It even has an in-suit drink bag filled with water that lasts even a six-hour spacewalk.
The survival kit in the orange suit is somewhat similar to the ones used by hikers.
ACESs [orange] are equipped with radio, motion sickness pills, lights, flare kits because these work perfectly well in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The survival kit in white suits is more of a primary life support system.
Given the difficult conditions in space, EVA suits comes with a supply of oxygen, battery power, and a radio.
