NASA’s spacesuits have a gender problem;

these women are fixing it

By Christian Science Monitor, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.04.20
Word Count 678
Level 860L

Image 1. NASA astronaut Anne McClain works inside the International Space Station on February 7, 2019. McClain was working on U.S.
spacesuit maintenance, emptying and refilling water in suits' cooling loops. Photo: NASA

In the spring of 2019 something big was coming. For the first time, an entirely female team of
astronauts was to embark on a spacewalk.

Then, just days before Anne McClain and Christina Koch were to go outside the International
Space Station, a change was made. NASA swapped McClain for a man. The U.S. space agency
realized there weren't two spacesuits ready that would work for both women.

People were unhappy about the change. Instead of being a moment to celebrate progress, it
seemed to show how much work remained in supporting female astronauts.

However, it's not all bad news about including women at NASA and other workplaces.

"Women's history tends to proceed with these fits and starts," said Margaret Weitekamp. She is a
leader of the space history department at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in
Washington, D.C.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

A Minor Alteration

In the 1960s, NASA's spacesuits were custom made for each astronaut. At the time, they were all
men. In the 1970s, more astronauts flew, so NASA used spacewalking suits that could be worn by
different astronauts to save money and time. These suits had separate pieces that attached to one
another. The thinking was that women could wear the same sizes made for smaller men.

Later, money-saving cuts led NASA to drop some of

the sizes. That left only the mediums and larges.
During the space shuttle era from 1981 to 2011,
astronauts who didn't fit the sizes could still go on
missions. However, they couldn't do a spacewalk, said
former astronaut Bonnie Dunbar.

That changed with the International Space Station, as

all astronauts are expected to perform spacewalks.
Astronauts began to stay there in 2000.

Before launching, McClain had trained for spacewalks

underwater as other astronauts did, testing out different-sized suits. Then, once aboard the space
station, she did a spacewalk. She realized she needed a different size.

Sizing is important, said Dunbar. She flew on the space shuttle and now runs the Aerospace
Human Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M University. If the joints of the spacesuit "are not in the
right place, you have to really work at it to make it bend," she said.

A request to tweak a spacesuit once aboard the space station is "not uncommon," said Lindsay
Aitchison, a NASA spacesuit engineer. However, the first all-female spacewalk was scheduled for a
few days later. Making the changes would take too long. The crew decided together to change who
did the spacewalk, Aitchison said.

"It is actually a sign of women's secure and equal standing in the astronaut corps" that McClain
could speak up, Weitekamp said. It was important for her to be able to say "the equipment doesn't
fit me and I won't be able to perform well," she said. McClain knew they wouldn't drop her from
the spacewalk schedule, she said.

Soon after Koch's walk, McClain did a spacewalk. She went with Canadian astronaut David Saint-
Jacques. Then in October 2019, Koch and Jessica Meir did the first all-female spacewalk.

A Universal Suit

Recently, women have held some of the highest positions at NASA. They are designing the next
generation of spacewalking suits.

In fall 2019, NASA revealed new spacesuits designed for the Artemis program, which aims to land
the first woman on the moon. The new suits still have separate parts, said Aitchison. She leads the
design team. The team now uses drawings of about 100 body shapes and sizes as a guide.

"It's kind of a shift from thinking not just of men as bigger women or women as small men,"
Aitchison said. "Our bodies are truly different."

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Recent classes of astronauts have been about half women. "They're the future of the space
program," said Amy Foster. She is the author of "Integrating Women Into the Astronaut Corps."
So systems are being designed with women in mind.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Quiz

1 Read the article's Introduction [paragraphs 1-5].

Select the sentence from the section that shows why NASA delayed Anne McClain and Christina Koch's spacewalk.

(A) For the first time, an entirely female team of astronauts was to embark on a spacewalk.

(B) The U.S. space agency realized there weren't two spacesuits ready that would work for both women.

(C) However, it's not all bad news about including women at NASA and other workplaces.

(D) "Women's history tends to proceed with these fits and starts," said Margaret Weitekamp.

2 Read the following paragraph from the section "A Minor Alteration.”

A request to tweak a spacesuit once aboard the space station is “not uncommon,” said Lindsay
Aitchison, a NASA spacesuit engineer. However, the first all-female spacewalk was scheduled for
a few days later. Making the changes would take too long. The crew decided together to change
who did the spacewalk, Aitchison said.

Which detail supports the conclusion that time was an issue in the decision to delay the first all-female spacewalk?

(A) A request to tweak a spacesuit once aboard the space station is “not uncommon,” said Lindsay
Aitchison, a NASA spacesuit engineer.

(B) However, the first all-female spacewalk was scheduled for a few days later.

(C) Making the changes would take too long.

(D) The crew decided together to change who did the spacewalk, Aitchison said.

3 What is the relationship between being underwater and being in space?

(A) They are both places where NASA has training centers.

(B) They are both places that astronauts like to go.

(C) In both environments, people need a special suit to move around and survive.

(D) In both environments, objects seem to weigh less than they do on the surface of Earth.

4 What caused NASA to design a new generation of spacewalking suits?

(A) People were upset that Anne McClain did not get to be part of the all-female spacewalk.

(B) NASA is planning a new mission to land a woman on the moon.

(C) People were upset that NASA had not changed the design of the suits since the 1970s.

(D) NASA is planning a new mission to land a woman on Mars.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Answer Key

1 Read the article's Introduction [paragraphs 1-5].

Select the sentence from the section that shows why NASA delayed Anne McClain and Christina Koch's spacewalk.

(A) For the first time, an entirely female team of astronauts was to embark on a spacewalk.

(B) The U.S. space agency realized there weren't two spacesuits ready that would work for both
women.

(C) However, it's not all bad news about including women at NASA and other workplaces.

(D) "Women's history tends to proceed with these fits and starts," said Margaret Weitekamp.

2 Read the following paragraph from the section "A Minor Alteration.”

A request to tweak a spacesuit once aboard the space station is “not uncommon,” said Lindsay
Aitchison, a NASA spacesuit engineer. However, the first all-female spacewalk was scheduled for
a few days later. Making the changes would take too long. The crew decided together to change
who did the spacewalk, Aitchison said.

Which detail supports the conclusion that time was an issue in the decision to delay the first all-female spacewalk?

(A) A request to tweak a spacesuit once aboard the space station is “not uncommon,” said Lindsay
Aitchison, a NASA spacesuit engineer.

(B) However, the first all-female spacewalk was scheduled for a few days later.

(C) Making the changes would take too long.

(D) The crew decided together to change who did the spacewalk, Aitchison said.

3 What is the relationship between being underwater and being in space?

(A) They are both places where NASA has training centers.

(B) They are both places that astronauts like to go.

(C) In both environments, people need a special suit to move around and survive.

(D) In both environments, objects seem to weigh less than they do on the surface of Earth.

4 What caused NASA to design a new generation of spacewalking suits?

(A) People were upset that Anne McClain did not get to be part of the all-female spacewalk.

(B) NASA is planning a new mission to land a woman on the moon.

(C) People were upset that NASA had not changed the design of the suits since the 1970s.

(D) NASA is planning a new mission to land a woman on Mars.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.