• Question: how do you move around in space outside the iss

    Asked by danielb to Kevin, Katie, Jon, Floris, Delma, Adrian on 9 Jan 2016.
    • Photo: Adrianos Golemis

      Adrianos Golemis answered on 9 Jan 2016:


      Hello, danielb, to work in space, outside the ISS, you need to perform what we call an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) or “spacewalk”. That means wearing a spacesuit specially built to help you breathe and keep you safe in the vacuum of space. But how do you move? There is a robotic arm which can gently grab and place you roughly where you want to be on the Station’s exterior and from there you can crawl around the ISS by reaching and pulling handles especially built for that. All this time you are tied to a tether which keeps you from floating away from the ISS. In the past another system has also been used: A personal “rocket chair” called the MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit) which the Astronaut could ride to propel yourself around.

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