The spacesuit on the international space station may be retiring. NASA has suspended the spacewalk on the international space station after an astronaut's helmet leaked This is not the first leak due to the aging of space suits. As early as 2013, ESA astronaut Luca parmitano had to shorten the spacewalk after his helmet was filled with 1.5 litres of water.
A 2017 report pointed out that only 18 spacesuits on the space station are still available. But now, it seems that this number may shrink even more. But leaking spacesuits are not easy to solve. This is a potentially life-threatening situation that no astronaut should worry about during the spacewalk on the international space station.
The latest event of the space suit on the international space station took place in March. Astronauts Raja chair and Matthias Maurer went out in a routine EVA (extravehicular activity). They had planned to install hoses on a radiator beam valve module outside the space station. However, at the end of the seven hour spacewalk, Maurer found water and moisture in his sunshade.
NASA said the problem did not pose a threat to Maurer's life, but the situation could be worse. After the incident, NASA's Aviation Safety Advisory Group decided to suspend the spacewalk of the international space station.
Unfortunately, engineers on earth are the only people who can check protective clothing correctly. Therefore, NASA plans to send them back during the upcoming SpaceX dragon mission in June. Before that, the space agency said that the risk of carrying out a spacewalk on the international space station was too high. Instead, it will need to consider the risks of any future spacewalk during this period.