Why do astronauts need spacesuits?

Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. Feel the cool air go in, and then let it out. You breathe like this all day and all night, without even thinking.

Astronauts are people who fly up into space in a spaceship. When they step outside it, they wear big, puffy white suits. So why do astronauts need spacesuits?

Your body needs air to keep working, every moment of the day. Here on Earth, air is all around you, so you breathe it in easily. You cannot see it, but it is always there.

Up in space, things are very different. Space has no air at all, not even a tiny bit. Between the stars, there is only dark, empty space.

The spaceship carries its own air inside, closed in by its strong walls. That way, astronauts can breathe inside it. In there, they wear comfy clothes, just like you.

Astronauts also go outside the spaceship to fix things. That trip is called a spacewalk, which means floating out of the spaceship to work. But out there, there is no air to breathe. What do you think astronauts need to take with them?

Astronauts take their air with them, right inside the spacesuit! The suit is sealed, which means closed up so tight that no air can get out. It wraps the astronaut in air from head to toe.

On the back of the suit sits a big backpack. The backpack carries plenty of fresh air, enough for a long spacewalk. With it, the astronaut keeps breathing, nice and easy.

The astronaut's head goes inside a round, clear helmet, sealed tight to the suit. The astronaut breathes the air inside it and looks out through it. Now the astronaut can float outside and fix the spaceship.

Spacewalk. Sealed. Space has no air, so astronauts wear a sealed suit full of air to breathe.

Sleep well, little one, safe and snug with soft air all around you.