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Text Box: Text Box: The kind of clothing that an astronaut wears is dependent of the length of a mission, where the mission is taking place, and the different activities that the astronaut will be required to perform during the mission. Many people believe that astronauts were large, bulky space suits throughout the duration of a mission. In fact, the white space suit with the mirrored protective visor is only one of many outfits that an astronaut might wear and is only used during Extra Vehicular Activates (EVA's, or 'space walks'). Before an astronaut is launched into space by means of a rocket (ex: Saturn V for moon exploration) or a shuttle (ex: the Columbia, Discovery, Challenger), he/she dons an orange Launch and Entry Suit (LES). An astronaut will board the rocket or shuttle wearing this outfit and will change into a different set of clothes once having cleared the atmosphere and entered and orbit. The LES protects an astronaut in the event of emergencies, such as an air pressure leak in the cabin of the shuttle. The LES includes a: - parachute harness - parachute pack (opened automatically or manually) - pilot chute - shroud cutter - emergency oxygen supply - 2 L of emergency water - life raft - flotation devices - survival vest - radio - beacon - signal mirror - flares - sea dye marker Astronauts choose the clothing that they will wear for missions on the space shuttle months in advance. Each crew member must bring with them a change of clothes for each day of the mission. If you were on a mission on Space Shuttle Discovery, you could have the option of wearing pants or shorts (your choice may depend on the temperature of the shuttle or your planned activities), polo or rugby shirts, sweaters and coveralls. All the items of clothing you would wear would be equipped with many pockets and strips of velcro. This is because it is very easy to lose objects in the space shuttle because of the lower force of gravity in space than on the surface of the earth (also known as, microgravity). If you happened to be a crew member on a mission at the International Space Station, you can choose from the American or Russian clothing supplied to you. However, you would not have the luxury of clean clothes for every day of the mission. On a typical mission, you would be given a new pair of shorts and a T-shirt for exercising for every 3 days. Your work shirt and pants or shorts would be changed only every 10 days. Lastly, the socks you would wear if your feet became cold would have to last you for at least a month. Since it is expensive to send supplies to space, astronauts and cosmonauts who work on the International Space Station do not have the option of washing their clothes. Water is extremely precious in space and both the water and energy that would be consumed by a washing machine must be conserved for other purposes. Once a set of clothes has been worn as often as possible, the clothes will be disposed of by means of an unpiloted Russian Progress Vehicle. The clothes are placed in the Progress before it undocks after having re-supplied the ISS, and the clothes burn up in the atmosphere along with the Progress upon re-entry.