Solar System

Space Suit

What it does

This experiment shows you why astronauts must wear pressurized space suits.

What you need

• An unopened bottle of soda
• A clear drinking glass

What to do

1. Observe the liquid in the sealed soda bottle.
2. Open the bottle and pour some soda into the glass.
3. Observe the liquid in the glass.

What it's all about

You can see bubbles rising to the surface of the soda in the open glass, but not in the sealed bottle. Soda makers dissolve carbon dioxide into liquid to give soda its tart taste. Gases don't normally dissolve into liquids, so they must be forced to dissolve under very high pressure. When the bottle is opened, that pressure decreases and the gas escapes into the air.

Your blood also contains dissolved gases. The air pressure on Earth keeps them inside your blood vessels. In space, there is much less air pressure. Without a space suit, the gases in your blood would boil out like the bubbles in a glass of soda. The escaping gas would expand your blood vessels and cause them to burst. A space suit keeps the air pressure around your body at Earth level, so that these gases do not escape from your blood.

Remember, be sure you have a parent, teacher, or other adult help you!

Want to know more about what it would be like to travel in outer space?
Read about it.