Is a Spacesuit Needed to Walk on the Surface of the Moon?


Astronaut on Moon

Most people accept the fact that humans have not only reached the surface of the moon, but have walked on it.  In all of the pictures from that historic moonwalk, the astronauts are wearing protective spacesuits.  Due to the harsh and mysterious environments the astronauts would come into contact with while traveling to and walking on the moon, the need for such protective equipment is no surprise.  Yet, if humans were to colonize the moon, and the protective clothing would be much less necessary in their day-to-day lives, would those spacesuits still be necessary?

Assuming that the moon were relatively well-colonized with an effective infrastructure, we can imagine that the humans living there would be reasonably comfortable and able to carry on with their day-to-day lives relatively easily.  Obviously, the structures that they would live in would allow them to wear regular clothing when they carry on with their day.  In some ways, their backyards would literally be the surface of the moon.  In fact, they may be able to easily look outside by just looking out a window in their kitchen!  Does that mean that they could also just go out a door and wander around outside for a bit whenever they felt like it?

The answer is no!  The moon colonists could not walk outside their homes on the moon without first putting on protective gear, including a spacesuit, even if they just wanted to go out for a short period of time.  The reason is that the moon, unlike planet Earth, has no atmosphere.  Without an atmosphere, there is no air to breathe.  Besides the lack of oxygen to breath, the lack of an atmosphere also means that there is no air pressure.  The human body is designed to survive in the air pressure of Earth.  In an environment without that pressure, such as on the surface of the moon, the body would be unable to survive.

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7 Responses to “Is a Spacesuit Needed to Walk on the Surface of the Moon?”

  • Kirstern svisvah says:

    God is full of wonders.

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  • tori says:

    Yes we need space suits to walk on the moon!!!!!

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    vinyda replied:

    your saying you really need suits to walk on the moon

    [Reply]

  • vinyda says:

    is neal armstrong the first astronaut who walked on the moon

    [Reply]

    James replied:

    wow, that is such an indictment of the american education system. And yes, he was.

    [Reply]

  • Sachiko says:

    Posted on incredible, that was a very good read. In cocniuslon, someone who actually thinks and understands what they are blogging about. Quite difficult to find of late, especially on the web . I bookmarked your web blog and will make sure to keep coming back here if this is how you always write. thank you, keep it up! .

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  • Cj says:

    I feel dumb thinking you may not need a space suit in space….

    [Reply]

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