After giving a guided tour of the International Space Station’s Columbus module, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet has shared another video where he is offering a close look at the spacesuits that are used for spacewalks aboard the ISS.

During the video, the astronaut focuses on the aspects that make up the spacesuit. They pack a chest-mounted panel that enables the astronaut to maintain communications during spacewalks that can go on for several hours. The panel also controls ventilation and water systems that allow the wearer to maintain a comfortable temperature, with everything powered by computers fitted on the backpack of the suit.

Spacesuits are well equipped for spacewalks

Pesquet, who himself was a part of five spacewalks across two missions, points out that only the spacesuit’s gloves are customized for each astronaut. “The suit can be adapted but the gloves are really personalized … which allows us to keep a certain dexterity, a certain mobility,” the astronaut says in the video.

The astronaut also focuses on the suit’s helmet, which packs cameras, a lighting system, and the “golden visor” that acts as a shield to an astronaut’s eyes from harsh sunlight. Circling Earth at a speed of 17,000 mph at an altitude of 250 miles, the astronauts experience a constant light every 45 minutes.

Previous guided tours of ISS

He also shows the important tethers too, which astronauts use to secure their tools after exiting the orbital outpost. “The astronaut’s biggest concern, biggest fear, is to let something slip out in the void,” Pesquet comments.

Previously, Pesquet also gave a tour of the new Russian module for the first time. Nauka module will serve as a science facility, docking port, and spacewalk airlock. It will mainly be working for cosmonauts on the Russian part of the ISS. The new module replaced the Pirs module that worked at the ISS for almost 20 years. Pesquet, who’d been on board the ISS since April 2021, showed several sections of the new module in the video.