The space suit was designed by a lingerie brand capable of withstanding lethal conditions on the Moon while ensuring flexibility for astronauts.
When Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon, he wore a suit produced by Playtex, a famous lingerie brand, according to IFL Science. Entering the near-vacuum environment of the Moon required a durable suit. Without a hermetically sealed suit, the pressure around the body would drop to a level where the boiling point of bodily fluids would fall below body temperature, causing gas bubbles to form within the human body.
Neil Armstrong was very fond of Playtex’s space suit. (Photo: NASA)
According to the NASA Space Biology Data Book, in such conditions, humans can maintain consciousness to some extent for 9 to 11 seconds. Shortly thereafter, they would experience paralysis accompanied by convulsions. During this time, water vapor rapidly forms in soft tissues and more slowly in venous blood. The accumulation of water vapor would cause the body to swell to twice its normal volume unless managed by a pressure suit. Following this, blood circulation would halt while gas and water vapor slowly escaped from the respiratory tract. The state of vaporization would paralyze the mouth and nose before affecting the rest of the body.
Therefore, for the mission to create a hermetically sealed suit, essential requirements included supplying oxygen to the wearer and tightly controlling body temperature. NASA invited several competing teams to design space suits for the Apollo Moon missions. The International Latex Corporation (ILC), better known for the Playtex brand, was not among the selected teams but convinced NASA to allow them to participate in the design.
After working continuously for six weeks, Playtex created a prototype suit worthy of submission to NASA. Under the guidance of an automotive mechanic and a TV repairman with no prior experience in space suit production, the team’s prototype won the competition. The suit met the required conditions while providing the necessary flexibility for the flight to the Moon.
Neil Armstrong was very fond of this suit, comparing it to a spacecraft. “It is one of the most widely photographed spacecraft in history. Its success comes from its ability to obscure the unattractive wearer from view. However, the true beauty of the suit comes from how well it functions,” Armstrong shared.
