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NASA Needs New Space Suits

Astronauts Story Musgrave, left, and Don Peterson float in the cargo bay of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Challenger during their April 7, 1983 spacewalk on the STS-6 mission. Photo: NASA
Astronauts Story Musgrave, left, and Don Peterson float in the cargo bay of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Challenger during their April 7, 1983 spacewalk on the STS-6 mission. Photo: NASA

Astronauts on the International Space Station use a specialized suit called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU, to work outside the space station safely.

The suits were delivered to the station in the 1980s and are in need of an upgrade. The suits made headlines earlier this year when what would be the first all-female spacewalk was postponed due to a lack of sizing for the innards of one of the EMUs.

Florida Today space reporter Antonia Jaramillo took a look at the history of the suit, the challenges NASA faces upgrading the equipment and what the agency is thinking about for moon or Mars suits in a piece published earlier this month.

Brendan Byrne is Central Florida Public Media's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing the organization's internship program. Byrne also hosts Central Florida Public Media's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration, and the weekly news roundup podcast "The Wrap."