How the spacesuit has evolved since Apollo-era

Different eras means different technology.

That said, the technology used in producing spacesuits for the great astronauts of the Apollo era was still ahead of it’s time. Not only that, there were different spacesuits for different uses, says Carmena Mortillaro of the Johnson Space Center.

"So Apollo astronauts had three suits that were made specifically for them. It was the main suit they would use, a training suit that they would train in, and a back up suit."

Spacesuits for the Apollo program had to do things like protect the astronauts as they were walking on the moon. And then came the Skylab era in which suits were only used for spacewalks.

"On the moon, astronauts wore boots. But astronauts on the Space Station or during the shuttle era didn't have to walk on any surface. They were just floating in space. And so usually their boots, actually, have more hardware on them because they have to click into the robot arm, “ says Mortillaro.

Because of the 0 gravity in space, the pocket space insured the astronauts held on to pens and other items.

Now that's just a bit of the history of the Apollo space suit.

But astronauts wear inflight coverall suits at the ISS or inside a spacecraft. They also wear it when they're just hanging around and doing their work.

But what about today’s technology?

"NASA is testing [a new vest] right now on the International Space Station and on the Orion Missions that are coming up to protect astronauts against that radiation. What's neat about it is, unlike a full suit, right, that would protect them against radiation, this allows mobility."

Carmena adds that vest would be worn if there was a solar flare or storm and worn under the suit.

But having mobility is the key with today's space suit.