This Crazy Patchwork of Restraints Ultimately Led to Modern Pressurized Spacesuits

1962: This isn’t a demented experiment from some wacky fictional mad scientist. Instead, it’s actual serious research by NASA that led to pressurized spacesuits.

Robert St. John is the lucky victim, er, “test subject” in this completely legitimate and necessary experiment on pilot restraint and closed loop breathing systems at NASA’s Ames Research Center. The crazy patchwork of colours and visible lacing on the test suit aren’t suspicious at all, we swear. The oddly perfect schematic in the background certainly doesn’t make this look more like a carefully-staged set than an active research lab, right?

Image credit: NASA

Contact the author at mika.mckinnon@io9.com or follow her at @MikaMcKinnon.

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