Snorkels in Space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. After a spacewalking astronaut nearly drowned in his helmet in July, NASA has a plan to protect its crew when they venture into the vacuum of space this weekend: snorkels and absorbent towels.

NASA has determined that as many as four urgent spacewalks are necessary to fix a broken cooling line that led to the shutdown of several systems at the International Space Station, the space agency said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Station managers decided to send two American astronauts out as soon as possible to replace a pump with a bad valve.

The catch: Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano nearly drowned in July, when more than a gallon of water leaked into his helmet, filling it like a fishbowl. Should water start pooling up again, NASA says it will be ready -- thanks to a hack worthy of TV's "MacGyver."

- Allison Bolinger, NASA's lead U.S. spacewalk officer

Some smart engineers on the ground said, hey, this looks like a snorkel youd use for scuba diving, explained Allison Bolinger, NASA's lead U.S. spacewalk officer. NASA realized that a water-line vent tube could be snipped down and attached with Velcro within the spacesuit, between a water restraint valve and the astronaut, she explained.

The crew members themselves fabricated the snorkels on Sunday.

This is your last resort if water is in your suit you can lean down and use this to breathe, Bolinger said.

The space agency also installed absorptive pads in the back of each helmet, which will soak up any water that shows up like a sponge. The spacewalkers have been trained to tilt their heads back periodically to test the pad, she said; if it sucks up around 6 and a half ounces of water, it will feel squishy -- a sure sign of trouble.

Thats a sign there is a problem in the EMU and its time to come inside, Bolinger said.

The absorptive pads were designed on the ground and shipped up to the space station in a recent cargo craft. But while waiting for their arrival, NASAs engineers looked at other ways to MacGyver towels from material on board the space station: space diapers.

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Snorkels in Space