NASA announced a radical decision at the last minute, which surprised many, but we are talking about an absolutely necessary step, because now it is about the safety of its astronauts. NASA officials have decided to temporarily suspend any kind of space missions by astronauts because of fears that some of the suits they use could seriously malfunction.

NASA made the decision after an ESA astronaut had a serious problem with his spacesuit, which leaked water from the cooling system inside the helmet to supply oxygen and protect him from extremely low temperatures. Neither ESA nor NASA have any idea why this defect appeared in the suit used by the astronaut, but other missions in space have been postponed due to the safety of people.

NASA: Last-minute decision announced, what important steps taken

NASA has been using decades-old suits to send its astronauts into space, which is known without a doubt, but age may be one of the reasons why the problem has now arisen. The event took place in March 2022, it was revealed by NASA and ESA only now that the suspension of astronauts’ space missions remains active, even less than 5 months from the moment it was established, an indication that not much is known yet.

Similar to the incident in 2013, when an Italian astronaut found fluid from the suit leaking inside the helmet that was supposed to protect him, even then a break similar to the one imposed now was required. of NASA. The Italian astronaut was close to drowning due to water entering his helmet, so now NASA wants to avoid serious situations like this.

NASA has not revealed when astronauts will be allowed back into space in their existing suits on the International Space Station, so it remains to be seen what kind of decisions will be made after the suits are reviewed.