Faulty spacesuits are putting astronauts at risk of drowning.
Astronauts could drown due to outdated spacesuits
NASA is relying on outdated 1980s equipment for its space crews which almost had terrifying consequences for Tracy Dyson after an arctic ice blast covered her visor as she was about to leave the airlock of the International Space Station last week.
Her spacewalk was aborted immediately and the space agency has launched an investigation.
Dyson told mission control: "There's water everywhere. I got an arctic blast all over my visor.
"I could see the ice crystals flowing out there. Just like a snow cone machine, there was ice forming at that port."
There have been previous close calls as spacewalks were halted entirely for seven months in 2022 after astronaut Matthias Maurer noticed a build-up of fluid inside his suit following a seven-hour excursion.
NASA is desperate to update equipment but is unable to find a new spacesuit manufacturer and it is feared that disaster will occur if a new supplier does not emerge.