NASA has suspended all spacewalks on the ISS. The reason for this decision is that the agency’s spacesuits pose a threat to the lives of astronauts.
The fact is that NASA spacesuits let water through. This problem has been known for a long time – back in 2013, astronaut Luca Parmitano interrupted his spacewalk due to the fact that 1.5 liters of water formed inside his helmet. In 2015, astronaut Terry Wirths nearly choked to death.
The latest case occurred on March 23 with astronaut Matthias Maurer. After the spacewalk, he discovered water in his space suit and sent a detailed report of the situation to NASA.
As NASA ponders the risks of using these aging suits, they are currently not intended for scheduled spacewalks until an investigation is completed.
We will have to pit the risk of a spacewalk in an obsolete spacesuit against the risk of failure due to ignoring repairs to the ISS.
The suits used by Western astronauts were made over 40 years ago. In 2017, NASA reported that the agency had only 18 usable suits of this model left. In 2019, new spacesuits were announced, but they will not appear until 2025.
