With oceans and continents sliding by 

hundreds of kilometers below, space-suited 

astronauts help construct the International 

Space Station. The eyes and hands of 

astronauts are needed in the many intricate 

tasks that have to be performed. Keeping 

astronauts alive in the hostile space 

environment and able to perform hands-on 

work is the job of a spacesuit.

Build It With Spacewalks Small, water-filled, plastic tubes laced through the

liquid cooling and vent garment keep the astronaut 

cool inside a spacesuit.

When pressurized, spacesuits become stiff. Suit gloves need

many joints to permit finger dexterity. A small wrist mirror

permits reading control settings on the front of the suit.

With the outer suit fabric removed, bearings for mobility

are visible in the shoulders, wrist, and waist. 

The astronaut enters the suit by pulling on the lower 

torso (pants), slipping into the upper torso, and snapping

the waist bearing rings together.

The lower torso has boots attached.Red stripes on some

suits help mission controllers identify which astronaut 

they are looking at in their television screens.

Fully suited, the

astronaut is ready for

a space walk. Refer

to the other side of

the poster for more

suit details.
Build it with Spacewalks

2005 AD

Just after sunset, an exceptionally bright star-like object glitters in the southwestern sky. Unlike its stellar

background, the object moves quickly and sets in the northeast a few minutes after it first appeared. It

is a scene that is repeated over many parts of Earth 16 times each day. The object is the International

Space Station, a huge orbital space platform constructed by the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan,

Brazil, and 11 European nations. Inside interconnected cylindrical laboratories scientists probe the

states of matter, combine chemicals, grow crystals, monitor the reactions of the human body, grow

plants, raise animals, and study Earth below and the universe above.

The Present

Planned to be the largest structure ever erected in Earth orbit, construction on the International Space

Station (ISS) will take place over the next several years. Components of the Space Station will be brought to

Earth orbit by the Space Shuttle and Russian Proton rockets. Modules, truss beams, air locks, solar panels,

antennas, and radiators will be joined together in Earth orbit. When finally completed, the ISS will be nearly

110 meters long and 80 meters wide or almost the size of two side-by-side football fields.

Spacewalks

The International Space Station will be built with spacewalks. Assembly operations will be complex

because there is much more to do than just docking pieces together. For example, electrical connections

will have to be made and fluid transfer lines will have to be joined. Antennas will need positioning.

Locking bolts for solar panels will have to be removed to permit the panels to open, and other bolts

will have to be driven tight to firmly attach components

to the truss beam that serves as the Space Station’s backbone. Completing each of these tasks calls for a space version of a hard hat worker. The hard hat will be a space helmet and the worker, a 

highly trained astronaut, will be decked out in a spacesuit.

Spacewalking astronauts will move about the outside of the International Space Station using various translational aids such as rails fixed to modules that serve as

hand holds. They will also use a mobile robot arm with a

work platform at its end that moves along the truss beam.

With each new component delivery from Earth, spacewalkers will perform dozens of jobs as they make new

connections and reconfigure previous ones. 

By the time the International Space Station is 

completed, astronauts and cosmonauts will don their

spacesuits many times and accomplish 

hundreds of hours of spacewalks. 

Please take a moment to evaluate this product at:

http://ehb2.gsfc.nasa.gov/edcats/educational _wallsheet

Your evaluation and suggestions are vital to continually 

improving NASA educational materials. Thank you.
Extravehicular Mobility Units

Spacesuits, or extravehicular mobility units (EMUs), are complex multi-layered garments that protect

spacewalkers from the hazards of outer space. These hazards include:

• vacuum (no atmosphere for breathing and pressure)

• boiling hot temperatures in sunlight

• shattering cold temperatures in shade

• high-speed micrometeoroids and other space debris

• radiation

In addition to these hazards, spacewalkers

also function in microgravity (free-fall condition in which gravity’s effects are greatly

reduced). Suit systems have to be able to

function in an environment in which up

and down is not apparent.

The many layers of the suit provide 

different services to the astronaut

inside. Some layers hold in a 

breathable atmosphere and contain 

pressure needed to sustain body 

tissues. Other layers provide insulation against temperature extremes.

Still other layers provide protection

against micrometeoroid impacts.

Additional equipment is contained in a backpack including

oxygen, cooling water, electrical

power, gas circulation, and radio

communications.

All of the thousands of

spacesuit parts are integrated

into a system that serves as a mini-spacecraft for astronauts. But unlike the Space

Shuttle and Russian Soyuz spacecraft, 

spacesuits also have to be flexible so that 

the astronauts inside can do work.

The complete story of U.S. spacesuits can 

be found in the latest edition of Suited For

Spacewalking - An Activity Guide for Technology

Education, Mathematics, and Science, 

EG-1997-01-112-HQ. Refer to the NASA

resources section of the poster back for on how

to obtain a copy of the guide and how to learn

more about the International Space Station. The

guide provides the lesson plans for many

hands-on classroom activities. Additional 

activities are included on this poster.

Helmet and Visor Assembly

Upper Torso

Tether

Portable Life 

Support System

Display and 

Control Module

Communmications

Carrier Assembly

Lower Torso
Right Tool for the Job

Objective: To design and construct a prototype tool for spacewalkers to use to complete a specific

job while assembling the International Space Station. 

Standards:

Science Content Standards

Motions and forces

Abilities of technological design

Universals of Technology

Physical Systems

Linkages

Utilizing Technological Systems

Materials (one set for the class):

Paper

Pencil or marker

Miscellaneous materials for making prototypes such as 

sticks, springs, paperclips, tape, straws, etc.

Background:

A good workshop contains many tools. Each tool has a specific function. Using the right tool for a job guarantees success. Using the wrong tool often leads to damaging the

object on which the tool is being used. Spacewalkers need tools to complete their jobs in space but the

cost of sending a complete tool shop to space is prohibitive. Furthermore, the tools have to be accessible

while astronauts are scrambling outside the Space Station. Where would the tools be placed when they

were not being used? A tool chest would work great until it is opened. In microgravity, wrenches, pliers,

hammers, and screwdrivers would all start floating away. A lost tool is hazardous because it is traveling at

high speed in Earth orbit. Someday it might collide with a future spacecraft and cause extensive damage.

Spacewalkers are limited in the number of tools they can carry in space and they have to be carried 

in such a way that the tools can never escape the spacewalker’s control. In this activity, students are

challenged to design and construct a prototype tool to do a job during a spacewalk. 

Procedure:

1. Discuss the tool problem with your students.

2. Select a particular job an astronaut needs to do on a spacewalk such as:

• cut and splice a wire

• connect fluid lines end-to-end

• remove bolts to reposition an antenna and reinstall and tighten the bolts

• straighten a metal strut that got bent during docking operations

• remove machine screws to open a panel, etc.

3. Have students work in small groups to design a tool to do the selected job. 

The tool must meet a few criteria:

• cannot get loose from the astronaut’s control

• sharp edges and pointed structures are protected so that they don’t accidentally

puncture the spacesuit

• the tool will not be damaged by the temperature extremes of outer space

• are able to successfully complete the required job.

4. Have students demonstrate their tool to the rest of the class.

Extensions:

• Bring in a variety of standard tools for students to examine. Ask them how the 

tools might be modified for space use.
Bending Under Pressure

Objective: To examine ways to make spacesuits flexible. 

Standards:

Science Content Standards

Motions and forces

Abilities of technological design

Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics

Geometry

Computation and Estimation

Universals of Technology

Physical Systems

Linkages

Designing and Developing Technological Systems

Materials (per student group):

2 liter soft drink bottle

Balloons

Flexible aluminum clothes drier duct (available at hardware store)

Metric ruler

Background:

Making a spacesuit out of flexible material isn’t sufficient to make the suit flexible when it is worn. Air

under pressure must be contained inside the suit and this stiffens the suit regardless of what materials it

is composed. To experience the stiffness factor, compare the flexibility of an uninflated balloon with an

inflated one. Some sort of joint system in a spacesuit is necessary to permit it to bend in strategic places

(elbows, wrists, fingers, knees, ankles, and waist). 

Making a spacesuit bendable is only part of the problem.

When an arm or a leg is bent, the bend can reduce the interior volume of the suit and this causes the pressure inside the suit to

increase. Consequently, the suit becomes stiffer than before. 

This two-part activity shows first how bending a suit arm

increases suit pressure and then shows one strategy for solving the

problem. An empty 2-liter soft drink bottle is used as a model of a

suit arm. With the bottle cap off, the bottle is very easy to bend.

The bottle is much harder to bend with the cap on. To see what is

happening, stretch a balloon over the bottle’s neck. Bending

decreases the volume of the bottle, causing the pressure inside to

increase. The balloon acts like a pressure gauge to show the

increase. 

In the second part of the activity, a length of aluminum clothes

drier duct is bent. Measurements of the diameter of the hose will

show that no crimping has taken place. Consequently, if a suit were

constructed with aluminum vent hose, pressure inside the suit would

not increase as it is bent. The vent hose is constructed with small tucks

that expand on the outside of the bend and contract on

the inside of the bend. A similar system is used in 

spacesuits but arm and leg cylinders are made out of

Uncapped Bottle fabric with expansion tucks sewn into them.

continued on next page
Bottle With Balloon

Procedure:

1. Remove the cap from an empty 2-liter bottle. Bend the bottle in half. Observe how hard this is to do.

2. Straighten out the bottle and put the cap back on the bottle. Try to bend the bottle again and 

observe how hard this is to do. Why is the bottle harder to bend? 

3. Stretch a small balloon over the bottle mouth and repeat the bending activity. 

What happens to the balloon?

4. Examine the aluminum vent hose. Measure its diameter at 

several points. 

5. Bend the hose. Measure the diameter of the hose at the same 

points. Does the volume of the hose change when it is bent? 

How can you confirm this mathematically?

Extensions:

• Discuss other ways a spacesuit can be made to be flexible.

• Try making an inflated long balloon flexible by adding some 

sort of joint system to it.

• Collect other materials that can be bent without crimping such 

as vacuum cleaner hose and swimming pool filter hose. 

Compare how flexible the different materials are and how 

effective they are at bending without crimping.

Capped Bottle
Get A Grip!

Objective: To model the 

problems spacewalkers have 

when doing jobs that involve 

finger dexterity and to look 

for solutions to the problems. 

Standards:

Science Content Standards

Motions and forces

Universals of Technology

Physical Systems

Linkages

Utilizing Technological Systems

Materials (one set for the class):

2 soft drink bottles (2-liter size) with caps

Duct tape

Scissors

Heavy duty (rubber-coated) work gloves

Background:

The greatest challenge in making space suits flexible is to construct flexible

gloves. When a spacesuit is pressurized, the glove fingers tend to pop out and become stiff. Although

it is possible for the astronaut inside to bend the fingers to grab things, fingers get very tired in time,

causing the astronaut’s efficiency to diminish.

In this activity, students will don heavy-duty rubber-coated work gloves and try to join two 2 liter

soft drink bottles together. The caps of the bottles are fastened together with duct tape. The object is

to then connect the bottles to each other. This activity gives students experience with large and small

objects at the same time.

At the completion of the activity, discuss with your students their observation of the problems they

encountered trying to join the bottles together. Ask them to come up with ideas on how the problems

could be solved.

Procedure:

1. Remove the caps from two empty 2-liter bottles. Tape the caps together with duct tape so 

that the screw ends point outward in opposite directions. 

2. Have a student put on heavy work gloves and try to assemble the two bottles and the joined 

caps into a single structure. Also have the student try the job without gloves. Which assembly 

operation was easier? Which one took less time?

Extensions:

• Obtain a pair of rubber surgical gloves and inflate and tie them. What happens to the fingers 

and palms of the gloves? Ask students to come up with ways to make the gloves flexible. Test 

the ideas on the surgical gloves.

• Play games of skill with and without gloves. Compare completion times. 

Do students improve their scores with practice?
Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

Objective: To develop strategies for moving about the International Space Station. 

Standards:

Science Content Standards

Motions and forces

Abilities of technological design

Universals of Technology

Physical Systems

Linkages

Designing and Developing Technological Systems

Materials (for the entire class):

Swivel office chair with castors 

Background:

When astronaut Edward White made the first American

spacewalk, he discovered that moving in space was

exhausting. His problem was finding hand holds.

Although an astronaut can exert a force on an object in space and propel it away, the astronaut will

move away from the object in the opposite direction at the same time. This is explained by Isaac

Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. 

If a spacewalker is not touching any part of the spacecraft, it is impossible for the spacewalker to do

anything but turn in circles. To get about, the spacewalker needs to be able to push or pull against an

object or have some sort of rocket system for propulsion. Once moving, the spacewalker has to able to

exert another force to stop. This is explained by Newton’s First Law of Motion: An object at 

rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will travel in a straight line unless acted upon by an

unbalanced force.

Spacewalkers working on the International Space Station will wear a self-propelled rescue device

called the Simplified Aid for Extravehicular activity Rescue (SAFER). SAFER is a clip-on unit that is worn

around the backpack life support system. If a spacewalker should get loose from the Station, gas jets 

in the SAFER unit can propel the spacewalker back to the Station.

In this activity, a student will be placed on a swivel office chair. The student will attempt to move

the chair without touching the floor. The chair becomes a simplified microgravity simulator that shows

students the necessity of exerting a force in order to be able to change locations. 

Procedure:

1. Place a student on a swivel office chair. Tell the student to move the chair without touching feet 

to the floor. The student will be able to get the chair to rock and spin but the motion will stop 

when the student stops moving. The student will not be able to get the chair to move off its spot

on the floor.

2.Conduct a discussion with your students about ways to enable an astronaut to move about 

the International Space Station. Let students study the front side of this poster for ideas on how 

to get about.

Extensions:

• Present an emergency situation to your students and discuss possible answers. “You are 

spacewalking outside the International Space Station and become separated from it. 

How can you get back to the Station?” For additional information on transitional 

aids for spacewalking, refer to the background information section in the Suited For 

Spacewakling publication (see the panel on NASA resources on this side of the poster).
Remaining Neutral 

Objective: To load a plastic film canister with enough

weight so that it will become neutrally buoyant. 

Standards:

Science Content Standards

Structure and properties of matter

Abilities of technological design

Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for 

School Mathematics

Geometry

Computation and Estimation

Universals of Technology

Physical Systems

Linkages

Materials (per group of students):

Plastic film canister

1000 ml beaker of water (large jar can be substituted)

Weights (washers, nuts, small nails, sand, etc.)

Background:

Before an astronaut gets to do a spacewalk, the astronaut receives extensive spacesuit training. One of

the most important forms of training is to practice spacewalks under water. With the spacesuit properly

weighted, the astronaut is immersed in an indoor swimming pool that holds nearly 25 million liters of

water. The weights on the suit make the astronaut neutrally buoyant. That means when the astronaut

is pulled under water by a couple of safety divers, the astronaut will be able to hover at any level in the

pool without moving. This makes for a good simulation of a spacewalk. To make the simulation more

effective, replicas of Space Station modules are present in the pool and the astronaut will practice making connections and turning bolts on the modules. 

In this activity, students attempt to make a plastic film canister neutrally buoyant. They fill the canister

with weights so that it can hover below the surface inside of a beaker

Procedure:

1. Have students add weights to the film canister and then immerse it in water. If the canister floats 

at the surface, more weights must be added. If it sinks to the bottom, some weights have to be 

removed. The canister is weighted properly when the canister hovers in the middle of the 

beaker or jar.

Extensions:

• Increase the challenge to this activity by balancing an object of irregular shape and unevenly 

distributed mass for neutral buoyancy. One such object might be a small hammer. The hammer

head will be much denser than the wooden handle. Weights will have to be added 

to the handle while small floats have to be added to the head to achieve neutral 

buoyancy. Styrofoam peanuts make good floats. Weights and floats are added 

to space-suited astronauts in underwater training facilities to achieve neutral 

buoyancy. Be sure to thoroughly dry the hammer after the activity.
NASA Resources for Educators

AK, AZ, Northern CA, HI, ID, MT,

NV, OR, UT, WA, WY

NASA Educator Resource Center

Mail Stop 253-2

NASA Ames Research Center

Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000

Phone: (650) 604-3574

CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, 

NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT

NASA Educator Resource Laboratory

Mail Code 130.3

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001

Phone: (301) 286-8570 MS

CO, KS, NE, NM, ND, OK, SD, TX

JSC Educator Resource Center

Space Center Houston

NASA Johnson Space Center

1601 NASA Road One

Houston, TX 77058

Phone: (281) 244-2129 

FL, GA, PR, VI

NASA Educator Resource Center

Mail Code ERC

NASA Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

Phone: (407) 867-4090 

KY, NC, SC, VA, WV

Virginia Air & Space Center

Educator Resource Center for

NASA Langley Research Center

600 Settler’s Landing Road

Hampton, VA 23669-4033 Phone:

(757) 727-0900 x 757

IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI

NASA Educator Resource Center

Mail Stop 8-1

John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis

Field

21000 Brookpark Road

Cleveland, OH 44135

Phone: (216) 433-2017

AL, AR, IA, LA, MO,TN

U.S. Space and Rocket Center

NASA Educator Resource Center for 

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

One Tranquility Base

Huntsville, AL 35758

Phone: (205) 544-5812

MS

NASA Educator Resource Center

Building 1200

NASA John C. Stennis Space Center

Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000

Phone: (228) 688-3338

NASA JPL Educator Resource Center

Village at Indian Hill

1460 East Holt Avenue, Suite 20

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pomona, CA 91767

Phone: (909) 397-4420

AZ and Southern CA 

NASA Educator Resource Center for

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

45108 N. 3rd Street East

Lancaster, CA 93535

Phone: (661) 948-7347

VA and MD’s Eastern Shores

NASA Educator Resource Center

Visitor Center Building J-17

GSFC/Wallops Flight Facility

Wallops Island, VA 23337

Phone: (757) 824-2298

NASA’s Central Operation of Resources for Educators

(CORE) was established for the national and international distribution

of NASA-produced educational materials in audiovisual format.

Educators can obtain a catalogue and an order form by one of the

following methods:

• NASA CORE

Lorain County Joint Vocational School

15181 State Route 58

Oberlin, OH 44074-9799

• Phone (440) 775-1400

• Fax (440) 775-1460

• E-mail nasaco@leeca.esu.k12.oh.us

• Home Page: http:/core.nasa.gov 

Educator Resource Center Network

To make additional information available to the education community,

the NASA Education Division has created the NASA Educator Resource

Center (ERC) network. ERCs contain a wealth of information for 

educators: publications, reference books, slide sets, audio cassettes,

videotapes, telelecture programs, computer programs, lesson plans,

and teacher guides with activities. Educators may preview, copy, or

receive NASA materials at these sites. Because each NASA Field

Center has its own areas of expertise, no two ERCs are exactly alike.

Phone calls are welcome if you are unable to visit the ERC that serves

your geographic area.

A list of the centers and the regions they serve includes:

Regional Educator Resource Centers (RERCs) offer more educators

access to NASA educational materials. NASA has formed partnerships

with universities, museums, and other educational institutions to serve as

RERCs in many states. A complete list of RERCs is available through CORE,

or electronically via NASA Spacelink at http://spacelink.nasa.gov/ercn

NASA’s Education Home Page

NASA’s Education Home Page serves as a cyber-gateway to information

regarding educational programs and services offered by NASA for the

American education community. This high-level directory of information

provides specific details and points of contact for all of NASA’s educational

efforts, Field Center offices, and points of presence within each state.

Educators and students utilizing this site have access to a comprehensive overview of NASA’s educational programs and services, 

featuring a search-able database that has cataloged each of NASA’s educational programs. In addition the Education homepage features access to

NASA Education News Releases, NASA’s Education Calendar of Events, and

schedules for NASA educational Internet and television broadcasts. The site

How to Access Information on NASA’s Education Program, 

Materials,and Services EP-1999-06-345-HQ This brochure serves 

as a guide to accessing a variety of NASA materials and services for 

educators. Copies are available through the ERC network, or 

electronically via NASA Spacelink.

Please take a moment to evaluate this product at

http://ehb2gsfc.nasa.gov/edcats/educational_wallsheet

Your evaluation and suggestions are vital to continually

improving NASA educational materials. Thank you.

highlights direct access to NASA’s on-line resources specifically designed for

the educational community, as well as access to home pages maintained

by NASA’s four areas of research and 

development (including the Aero-Space Technology, Earth Science, Human

Exploration and Development of Space, and Space Science Enterprises).

Visit this resource at the following address: 

http://education.nasa.gov

EW-1999-12-02-JSC

NASA Spacelink

NASA Spacelink is one of NASA’s electronic resources specifically

developed for the educational community. Spacelink is a “virtual

library” in which local files and hundreds of NASA World Wide Web

links are arranged in a manner familiar to educators. Using the

Spacelink search engine, educators can search this virtual library

to find information regardless of its location within NASA. Special

events, missions, and intriguing NASA web sites are featured in

Spacelink’s “Hot Topics” and “Cool Picks” areas. Spacelink may be

accessed at: http://spacelink.nasa.gov

NASA Spacelink is the official home to electronic versions of

NASA’s Educational Products. NASA educator guides, educational

briefs, lithographs, and other materials are cross-referenced 

throughout Spacelink with related topics and events. A complete

listing of NASA Educational Products can be found at the following

address: http://spacelink.nasa.gov/products

“Educator Focus” is comprised of a series of Spacelink articles,

which offer helpful information related to better understanding

and using NASA educational products and services. Visit“ Educator

Focus” at the following address: http://spacelink.nasa.gov/focus

Join the NASA Spacelink EXPRESS mailing list to receive

announcements of new NASA materials and opportunities for

educators. Our goal is to inform you as quickly as possible when

new NASA educational publications become available on

Spacelink: http://spacelink.nasa.gov/express

NASA Television (NTV)

NASA Television (NTV) features Space Shuttle mission coverage, live

special events, interactive educational live shows, electronic field

trips, aviation and space news, and historical NASA footage.

Programming has a 3-hour block—Video (News) File, NASA Gallery,

and Education File—beginning at noon Eastern and repeated five

more times throughout the day.

NTV Weekday Programming Schedules (Eastern Times)

Video File NASA Gallery Education File

12–1 p.m. 1–2 p.m. 2–3 p.m.

3–4 p.m. 4–5 p.m. 5–6 p.m.

6–7 p.m. 7–8 p.m. 8–9 p.m.

9–10 p.m. 10–11 p.m. 11–12 p.m.

Live feeds preempts regularly scheduled programming. Check the

Internet for program listings at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv 

NTV Home Page http://www.nasa.gov/ Select “Today at NASA” and 

“What’s New on NASA

TV?”

http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.News/ Select NASA “TV Schedules”

Tune in to NTV

Via satellite—GE-2 Satellite, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West

longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880.0 megahertz (MHz) and audio of 6.8 MHz—or through collaborating 

distance learning networks and local cable providers:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/ntvweb.html

For more information on NTV, contact: NASA TV

NASA Headquarters, Code P-2

Washington, DC 20546-0001

Phone: (202) 358-3572