Water seeps into astronaut’s helmet during space walk

TWO years ago, an astronaut nearly drowned inside his helmet in outer space. NASA raced against the clock to make sure it didn’t happen again. They may have failed.

Orbital ... Part of the International Space Station with the Earth in the background, photographed on Wednesday, February 25, 2015. Source: NASA

AN American astronaut has found water pooling inside his helmet after he finished a seven-hour space walk, raising new concerns about the safety of NASA’s spacesuits.

Terry Virts was not harmed during the incident, which the US space agency described as “minor” compared with the near-drowning of an Italian astronaut when a similar problem occurred in 2013.

Spacewalking! pic.twitter.com/c2Cs1lM3JF

— Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry) February 25, 2015

But mission managers will be poring over the data at a meeting today to decide whether another space walk can go ahead as planned on Sunday, a NASA spokesman said.

Even before this series of three spacewalks began, NASA voiced concern about a recurring problem with the American spacesuits in a part of the temperature control system known as the fan pump separator.

On edge ... Astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore, left, and Terry Virts during their second space walk outside the International Space Station yesterday. Source: NASA

LATEST SCARE

Virts did not notice any water during the space walk, as he toiled for hours to lubricate the latching mechanisms on a robotic arm and helped his colleague, Barry Wilmore, get the space station’s exterior ready for the arrival of commercial spaceships carrying astronauts in the coming years.

.@AstroTerry reports small amount of water in helmet in airlock at end of #spacewalk... http://t.co/q0O2pFtb8g pic.twitter.com/HImozzFJOY

— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) February 25, 2015

Their space walk lasted six hours and 43 minutes.

It was only after Virts was done, and had re-entered the airlock, that he began to feel dampness on the back of his head and saw water pooling near the front of his headpiece.

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The water inside Virts’ helmet was “kind of pooling on the front side of his helmet above the eye level”, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti told mission control in Houston.

The water was “about three inches in diameter”, she said, noting that the amount of water had increased in the moments since he first noticed it.

Alarm ... Astronaut Terry Virts points to his helmet as he sits inside the International Space Station. Source: NASA

On the job ... Terry Virts outside the ISS yesterday. Source: NASA

Lofty business ... A space walk earlier this week outside the ISS. Source: NASA

NASA television showed live images of Virts smiling inside his helmet and blowing on the water to make it ripple, before eventually removing the headpiece with Cristoforetti’s help.

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Virts then told mission control that the water had not come from his drink bag, which is rigged up inside the helmet in case astronauts get thirsty, and that it had a chemical taste.

A total of 11 millilitres of the fluid was collected with a syringe for analysis.

Quick release ... Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti checks on astronaut Terry Virts inside the International Space Station yesterday. Source: NASA

RECURRING PROBLEM

NASA commentator Rob Navias said the problem was “not nearly as severe” as the near-drowning of Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, who had to be rushed back inside the space station in 2013 after water began leaking in his helmet.

But the US space agency said last week engineers were concerned about water and condensation building up and causing a breakdown in a part of the suit’s temperature control system.

NASA discovered the problem in December when a fan pump separator did into speed up as expected on one suit.

Close call ... Astronauts discuss an aborted space walk in 2013 after dangerous water leak in the helmet of Luca Parmitano, bottom centre facing camera in white suit, drenched his eyes, nose and mouth. Source: NASA

A similar issue was discovered in a second spacesuit in January.

Wilmore was shipped a new suit and Virts was wearing a suit with a replacement fan pump separator that had shown some signs of corrosion.

The US space agency discussed the issue with reporters before the spacewalks began, and delayed the outings by one day to complete an internal investigation.

The final space walk of this series is set to begin Sunday night Australian time (2310 AEDT), but mission managers will not give the go or no-go until after their meeting on Friday.

The goal is to set up additional docking ports — which are essentially parking spots for space taxis — at the ISS for the arrival of more crew-carrying spacecraft.