Spacewalks competition
11 January 2016
Imagine walking in space and flying around the Earth at more than 27,000 km/h! This is what hundreds of spacewalkers have experienced in the last 50 years. Spacewalks (officially known as Extravehicular Activity or EVA) are an essential part of working in space. They are used to install new equipment and experiments, and to carry out repairs. Almost 1,000 hours of spacewalks have been needed to build and maintain the International Space Station since 1998.
Spacewalkers wear protective suits when they enter the airless vacuum of space. These suits have many different layers which keep the wearers at the right temperature, enable them to breathe, and protect them from harmful radiation. The oxygen pressure inside the suits is lower than in the Space Station. As a result, astronauts have to spend about four hours breathing oxygen inside an airlock before they can step outside.
There are two different pressure suits stored on the ISS. The American suit has two sections: a hard upper torso and a flexible lower torso. These sections connect at the waist. The astronaut’s legs are pushed into the trousers, then the arms and upper body are placed in the upper section. The Russian suit has a hard upper section with a back door which also houses the life support system. This makes it easier to put on single-handed. Both suits have separate gloves and helmets.
This month's competition: Spacewalks
Entries to reach us before: 31 January 2016
The best entries will be selected to go into the Space Gallery, and the overall winner will receive a special prize from the European Space Agency. Check out the ESA Kids website regularly to see who our monthly winners are!
Email entries to: kids@esa.int
or send to: ESA Kids, c/o Ms. Karina De Castris, ESA-ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei, C.P. 64 I-00044 Frascati, Italy.
Please note: artwork cannot be returned. Due to the large number of entries we receive each month, we do not send letters to participants acknowledging receipt. Only the winners are contacted by ESA. Maximum age limit for competition entries is 12.
