Communications of the ACM
X-Rays Reveal Interior of Nasa Spacesuits
When X-raying spacesuits at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 2008, photographer Mark Avino and conservator Ron Cunningham noted how artistic the gear appeared in scans. The images and their respective spacesuits are part of a traveling e
Credit: Mark Avino, National Air and Space Museum / Ron Cunningham
It was one of those happy accidents.
When X-raying spacesuits at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 2008, photographer Mark Avino and conservator Ron Cunningham noted how artistic the gear appeared in scans. They were the first to practice using X-rays on historical space objects for further study. Fast forward to 2011 when the images were paired with their respective spacesuits for a traveling exhibit now on tour.
"Suited for Space" is an exhibit that explores the design and innovation inside a spacesuit. It features gear like the EX-1A Apollo Applications Project suit, photos of which accompany this article. Built in 1968 as part of a program to develop spacesuits that could endure longer stays on the moon, it used materials that could operate at higher pressures.
The traveling exhibit highlights not only the astronauts who wore the spacesuits, but also the designers behind them that allowed humans to explore and survive on another planet. To learn more about astronauts and the team behind them, visit "50 Years of Human Spaceflight" on the National Air and Space Museum's website.
The exhibit will come to the eighth stop of its 13-city tour in Washington, D.C., at the National Air and Space Museum July 26–Jan. 21, 2014. It will then continue its tour across the country until 2015. The exhibit was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in partnership with the National Air and Space Museum.
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