In pictures: how have space suits looked across the years?

Last updated: 2025/11/26 at 10:37 AM

News Room Published 26 November 2025

Astronauts are known for their spacesuits. They look overly dramatic, with a massive head, and bulky arms – but this is of course necessary to survive the high pressure situation of space. But as billionaires reveal their own ambitions to head up the inky void, spacesuits have seemed to have become sharper. So, how have they changed over the years? (Picture: Nasa)

L. Gordon Cooper Jr is modelling the first Project Mercury suit in 1959, which was originally designed for pilots of high-altitude fighter aircraft. However, at the time, Nasa needed to protect astronauts in the event of a sudden depressurisation of the cabin in the vacuum of space, so these suits were used. Each astronaut had three and they were individually tailored to each astronaut. They were sturdy, as no Mercury pressure suit ever failed during launch. (Picture: Nasa)

This 1961 version of the Project Mercury suit sees a few changes — despite still looking like tinfoil. The suit, here worn by John Glenn, was used for the Mercury 4 to 9 missions, and saw a replacement of the ‘open loop’ breathing system with a ‘closed loop’ system, eliminating the rubber diaphragm around the wearer’s face. There were new safety boots, and the dark grey nylon outer shell was replaced with an aluminium-coated nylon. (Picture: Nasa)

Just four years later In March 1965, for a different mission, Nasa designed this suit based on the X-15 high-altitude pressure suit. But this suit was worn by astronauts for launch, in-flight activities and landing, and for the first mission the astronauts had portable air conditioners that were connected to their flight suits. (Picture: Nasa)

In June 1965, a slight revision was made to the suits, and as you can see Neil Armstrong looks thrilled by them. Nasa added more insulation to improve temperature control in direct sunlight and shadow, the pilot had integrated boots and detachable sun visor which clipped onto the helmet, and the Plexiglas helmet faceplate was also replaced with one made of higher strength polycarbonate plastic. (Picture: Nasa)

June 1965 was also when the first US astronaut Edward White ventured from the capsule for a 23-minute spacewalk. He used a gas-powered gun to manoeuvre in space, and oxygen was provided through an 8-metre ‘umbilical’ cord connected to the Gemini 4 spacecraft.(Picture: Nasa)

Pictured here is astronaut Jim Lovell before the 1965 flight. Version 3 is shown in December 1965, with some further changes including the pressure helmet and neck ring being replaced with a zippered hood which had a clear, fixed polycarbonate visor, and a lot more zippers for more adjustable suits. (Picture: Nasa)

Looking more like the suits we’re used to, engineer Bill Peterson fits test pilot Bob Smyth into the first Apollo suit, which was designed to allow lunar explorers greater flexibility, and were built with bellow-like rubber joints at the shoulders, hips, elbows and knees. (Picture: Nasa)

When it became time for man to step onto the Moon in 1969, the Apollo suits had a backpack that provided enough oxygen for breathing, ventilation and suit pressure for 7 hours of Moon walking. However, astronauts reported that sharp, abrasive lunar dust damaged the suits, wearing through layers and infiltrating seals. The suit had to be light so astronauts could move around in the Moon’s gravity and weighed about 82 kg (180 pounds), including its backpack. (Picture: Heritage Space/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Turning to the iconic pumpkin colour in 1981, Space Shuttle crews needed to be bright so rescue teams could easily spot astronauts if they had to bailout over the ocean. However, this version wore the ejection escape suit as the two men, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen were not venturing outside. (Picture: Nasa)

Space Shuttle commander Sid Gutierrez (right) gives a thumbs up in their Pumpkin Suits, used for Space Shuttle crews. This was a partial-pressure suit worn for the ascent and entry portions of flight from mission STS-26 in 1988 to STS-65 in 1994. (Picture: Getty)

The EMU suits are not the only ones to be used for spacewalks. Two Roscosmos astronauts are wearing Russian Orlan Suits. These differ from the EMU’s as Orlan suits are entered through a hatch at the back. That allows astronauts to get into and out of them quickly without assistance. The suit weighs nearly 110 kg (240 pounds), can spend 7 hours in space and is designed to last for 12 spacewalks (Picture: /AFP via Getty Images)

Now, Nasa astronauts use a two-space for spacewalks called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) which has interchangeable parts that can be used to accommodate a range of body sizes. Here, American Nasa astronauts Leroy Chiao and Daniel T Barry, are fully suited in the EMU suits and are connected to service and cooling umbilicals (SCU) in 1996. (Picture: Space Frontiers/Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

China’s Feitian space suit was first worn by Zhai Zhigang during the first Chinese spacewalk in 2008 (not pictured) and was based on the Russian Orlan-M suit. This image shows astronauts for China’s Shenzhou-21 space mission in 2025. (Picture: Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Private space firms such as SpaceX have their own spacesuits which seem to be a lot slimmer than Nasa’s. But this is because the suits have different purposes, and are at different stages. SpaceX’s suits are designed for short exposures to space, whereas Nasa’s are for longer space missions, which is why there is such a notable difference (Picture: Gregg Newton / AFP)

Other private space companies such as Blue Origin have created bright blue suits that was designed by Lauren Sánchez. She told the New York Times: ‘Let’s reimagine the flight suit. Usually, you know, these suits are made for a man. Then they get tailored to fit a woman. I think the suits are elegant but they also bring a little spice to space.’ (Picture: Blue Origin)

Nasa says that moonwalkers will wear spacesuits provided by Axiom Space, who collaborated with Prada, for the Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2027. The mission will see two crew members spend a week on the surface of the Moon. The idea is to allow astronauts to walk in the new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit, and it features a a new ‘helmet bubble,’ boots explicitly made for moonwalking and a portable life support system that is ‘like a fancy scuba tank and air condition combined.’ Naturally, it is pressurised and has a built in HD camera. (Picture: Getty)

The latest external design of the spacesuit for China was developed as one element of China’s goal of landing astronauts before 2030. It has a comprehensively protective fabric that shields against the harsh thermal environment and lunar dust. The helmet features a panoramic, anti-glare visor. The helmet also carries separate long and short focal length cameras. A multi-functional integrated control console is on the chest. (Picture: VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

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