Back in 2013, Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA), started a planned 6-hour spacewalk alongside NASA astronaut, Christopher J. Cassidy. However, the extravehicular activity (EVA) was cut short after Parmitano felt and later confirmed that his spacesuit was filling with water. A week prior, NASA had detected technical issues with the spacesuit's design.
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After the EVA started, just one hour later, Parmitano felt a strange sensation in his spacesuit. It appears as if the spacesuit began filling up with water. "The unexpected sensation of water at the back of my neck surprises me - and I'm in a place where I'd rather not be surprised," wrote Parmitano in a NASA blog post.
He continued: "I move my head from side to side, confirming my first impression, and with superhuman effort I force myself to inform Houston of what I can feel, knowing that it could signal the end of this EVA." And that is what happened as soon as Shane Kimbrough, capsule communicator, and Chris learned what was happening.
Parmitano thought the water came from his drinking water flask, but its increasing nature and temperature said otherwise. "As I move back along my route towards the airlock, I become more and more certain that the water is increasing, wrote Parmitano. "I feel it covering the sponge on my earphones and I wonder whether I'll lose audio contact."
Back To Safety
On his way to the airlock, Parmitano's vision began to become blurry as the water continued to increase. Not only that, but he felt water covering his nose, filling up the upper part of his helmet. His situation was so dire that he didn't know which direction he should be heading to reach the airlock.
"I try to contact Chris and Shane: I listen as they talk to each other, but their voices are very faint now: I can hardly hear them and they can't hear me," wrote Parmitano. "I'm alone."
Thankfully, Parmitano used his safety cable to orient himself and move toward the airlock. Still, water made the whole experience worse. "I move for what seems like an eternity (but I know it's just a few minutes)," wrote Parmitano. Finally, with a huge sense of relief, I peer through the curtain of water before my eyes and make out the thermal cover of the airlock: just a little further, and I'll be safe."
He eventually entered the airlock and his team assisted him. All the while, no one could hear him through his comms. The team was able to remove his helmet and Parmitano was now safe, although not being able to hear due to the water inside his ears and nose.
"Space is a harsh, inhospitable frontier and we are explorers, not colonisers," he concludes. "The skills of our engineers and the technology surrounding us make things appear simple when they are not, and perhaps we forget this sometimes."
