Lesson: Survival/ Cool Space Suits Activity: Keeping Your Cool

Imagine It! Explore It! Do It!

Lesson: Survival/ Cool Space SuitsActivity: Keeping Your Cool

Life Science Unit

Dr. Shirley [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Protecting the Human Body in Space

Temp maintenance systems to protect the body it while it is in space

• Activity 1 – Keeping Your Cool• Activity 2 – Cool Suits

• Protecting from heat and cold while outside the shuttle– Water Cooling Part 1 – How does the water cooling

system in an EMV?– Water Cooling Part 2 – Experience a cooling system

like that in the EMV.


Body Protection in Space• Against temperature– Hot and cold!

• Air to breath• Air pressure


Water Cooling Part 1

Demonstrates the principles behind the EMU liquid cooling garment.

(What’s an EMU? An Extravehicular Mobility Unit! )



Preparing for the Students• 2 Coffee cans• 4 meters of aquarium tubing• 2 buckets• 2 thermometers• Duct tape• Ice and water• Heat Source (eg. light bulb)• Hole punch• Food coloring (optional)


Before Students Arrive

• Put 2 holes in one coffee can – One near the bottom, large

enough for aquarium tubing– One in the lid, also for tubing

• Put a hole in the center of the lids of both coffee cans, for thermometers


Before Students Arrive or During Activity

• Loosely coil aquarium tubing and place inside coffee can with three holes.– Tape inside walls to hold in place and space out

evenly.

• Poke one end of tubing out of hold in bottom and one end out of top.– Tube from bottom must reach to bucket below can– Tube from top must reach into ice bucket


Activity• Place thermometer in the center hole in top of

each can• Place both cans on table top• Place ice water bucket near table top and higher

– Add food coloring, if desired, to increase contrast

• Direct light/heat from source onto both cans evenly– Sources should be no more than 25 cm from cans

• Record temps in both cans as source is applied


Activity• Record temp again in 2 minutes• Put upper end of tubing in ice water and

siphon from other end to start water flow through can

• Record temps of both cans regularly for at least 10 minutes.– Enlist a student recorder to record temps, or ask

each student record temps on a graph


Extensions/ Discussions• Can the flow of water be controlled?• Is it possible to maintain a constant temp

inside can with tubing?• What happens if the heat source is

closer?


Water Cooling Part 2

Students experience water cooling technology like that used in the Space

Shuttle EMU.


Materials for Activity• Bucket of icy water• Empty bucket of equal or greater size• 3 meters of aquarium tubing• 1 kitchen trash bag per student (or

plastic gloves)


What does it feel like to wear an EVU?

• Ask every student to place a trash bag over their arm and gather it to a close fit• Students should move arms to create heat

for 2 minutes.• Remove bags• Discuss how it felt to wear bags, and

similarity to spacesuit– AND Why did it feel better to remove the bags?


Next Steps• Choose a student volunteer• Wrap tubing around student’s

bare arm– Leave a portion of tubing at each end

• Place shoulder end of tubing in ice water

• Siphon other end until water flows– Let water flow into empty bucket

• Ask student to describe sensation


EMU CoolingThe innermost layer of the EMU’s have stretch fabric

with tubes integrated into it.

Cooled water is pumped through to keep the

astronaut cool while inside the seven layer suit working.

Check out this spacesuit!http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/spacesuits/home/

clickable_suit.html

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/spacesuits/home/clickable_suit.html




Extension Discussion Questions

• What other environmental protections does an astronaut need? How can those be accomplished.

• How an a liquid cooling garment be constructed without continuous use of siphons and buckets?

• What professions on Earth might benefit from liquid cooled garments?

• Design and construct your own liquid cooled garment using stretchy tights or long underwear.


Ideas? Questions?

Thanks for your attention!

Documents

Lesson: Survival/ Cool Space Suits Activity: Keeping Your Cool