NASA is suffering a cosmic crisis with growing fears astronauts could drown in their spacesuits and float off into the vast emptiness of the universe.
They are relying on glitchy old 1980s gear which has already sparked several terrifying close calls. An official NASA document reveals astronaut Luca Parmitano was the victim of a “potentially catastrophic release of water” into his helmet in a 2013 mission.
And spacewalks were urgently halted entirely for seven months after astronaut Matthias Maurer noticed a build up of fluid inside his head equipment after a seven-hour excursion in March 2022.
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Last week, horrified astronaut Tracy Dyson suffered an arctic blast of ice which covered her visor just as she was about to leave the airlock of the International Space Station.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Her spacewalk was immediately aborted and an investigation launched.
Dyson told mission control: “There’s water everywhere. I got an arctic blast all over my visor.
“I could see the ice crystals flowing out there.
“Just like a snow cone machine, there was ice forming at that port.”
(Image: Getty Images)
NASA is now in a race against time to update its apparatus but is struggling to find a new spacesuit manufacturer.
Experts fear its outdated equipment is a ticking time bomb and a disaster is almost certain unless bosses find a company to take on the job.
Problems with water leaking into helmets date back more than a decade.
One business, Collins Aerospace, recently announced it had abandoned its work with Nasa to make a suit.
But neither it nor NASA gave a reason why.
Other spacewalks have also been called off at the last minute recently because of equipment breakdowns.
Dyson and fellow astronaut Matt Dominick were forced to head back onto the ISS on June 13 after he suddenly felt deeply uncomfortable in his gear.
NASA has now signed a “crossover” task order with new manufacturer Axiom to try to adapt its Moon suit for use on the ISS.
SpaceX is also beavering away on its own EVA suit, which will be tested for the first time in an upcoming mission.
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