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My Outro For My 20th Birthday

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Coming up on Destination Tomorrow, a revolutionary technology developed by NASA is being used

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to detect cancer instantly, leading to a more accurate diagnosis of this disease.

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Plus, in an effort to quiet our skies, NASA has a new program aimed at reducing noise

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generated by aircraft.

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And, a record-setting unmanned aircraft called the Helios is changing the way scientists

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conduct Earth and atmospheric science missions.

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All this and more next on Destination Tomorrow.

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Hello everyone, I'm Steele McGonigal.

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And I'm Kara O'Brien, and welcome to Destination Tomorrow.

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This program will uncover how past, present, and future research is creating today's knowledge

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to answer the questions and solve the challenges of tomorrow.

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NASA's new Helios aircraft is a remotely piloted flying wing, which is designed to

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operate at high altitudes for several months at a time.

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Developed with ultralight composite materials and with a wingspan of 247 feet, the Helios

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exceeds the overall length of a Boeing 747.

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Often referred to as an atmospheric satellite, Helios' mission is to conduct a wide variety

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of Earth and atmospheric science missions while flying on the edge of the atmosphere.

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The Helios could also monitor weather, track hurricanes, and provide coverage of disaster

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sites such as fires, flooding, and earthquakes in order to precisely direct emergency resources.

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The Helios could also provide telecommunications and other services at a fraction of the cost

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of satellites, while providing a reliable means of collecting vital information.

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Greg Provan spoke with John Del Frate about the future of Helios and its unique design.

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Since the early 60s, the world has relied on satellites for a variety of different applications,

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including use in the telecommunications field and in weather observations.

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Although satellites have revolutionized the way we live, they are not only very expensive

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to build and fly into space, they sometimes don't make it into space at all.

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To help find new and less expensive ways to fulfill the need for satellite usage, researchers

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at NASA are developing an innovative type of low-cost aircraft.

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It's called the Helios, and may be able to work much like a satellite, but at a fraction

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of the cost.

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This so-called atmospheric satellite will be able to fly at high altitudes for months

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at a time, providing a low-cost solution to current satellites.

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I spoke with John Del Frate to find out more.

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NASA's developing an experimental airplane, and we're using some technology that's been

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developed over the last 10, 20 years.

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We want to use solar cell technology and some very lightweight aircraft structure technology.

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By putting those two together, we think that we can build an airplane that can fly very

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high and then, more importantly, fly very long.

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We want to be able to do the mission of a satellite in some ways, and in this case,

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because we're doing it on an airplane, it would be like a poor man's satellite.

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So why do you think this would be a better solution than using existing satellites?

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Well, there's a few advantages that this kind of an airplane would give you over a regular

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satellite.

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For one, it's a lot less expensive.

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The other aspect is the satellite gets launched, and the technology's ancient already.

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An airplane like this could use technology that is current, the stuff that the scientists

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have just developed.

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Put it on the airplane, go up, fly it, test it, see how it does, bring it back down, change

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it.

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A satellite, once it's up there, it's pretty much up there.

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So the hope is to have the Helios fly for months at a time.

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How's it going to stay in the air that long?

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We've already licked the problem of being able to fly under solar power.

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But now the question is, you know, we've got solar power.

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What happens when the sun goes down?

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Well, we're developing a system that is like a rechargeable battery, for example.

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During the day, whatever excess power is produced by the solar cells, we capture that and store

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it on board.

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And then at nighttime, when the sun goes down, we use that power to power the electrical

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systems on the airplane.

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Although the Helios prototype uses new space-age materials, the design is actually very simple.

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Weighing in at just about 1,600 pounds, this ultra-lightweight, electrically powered, all-wing

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aircraft is constructed mostly of composite materials.

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It's assembled in six sections, each about 41 feet long, with an underwing pod attached

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at each panel.

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The pods carry the battery power system, flight control computers, data instrumentation, and

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the landing gear.

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The aircraft is powered by 14 electric motors, producing about 2 horsepower each, which drive

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lightweight, high-altitude propellers.

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This amount of power allows the aircraft to cruise between 19 and 27 miles per hour, with

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takeoff and landing speeds roughly about the same as a bicycle.

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The electric motors are solar powered, enabling the aircraft to produce enough energy during

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the day to stay aloft.

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When the sun goes down, the craft relies on proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology

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to power the motors.

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These unique fuel cells combine oxygen and hydrogen to produce electric power, heat,

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and water.

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As long as these gases are supplied, the unit continues to produce power, allowing the aircraft

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to remain airborne for days at a time.

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So what are some other potential uses for the Helios?

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We believe the airplane could be used to do some science research.

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Basically, the airplane can be loaded with sensors and instruments that study the Earth's

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atmosphere, look down, study things on the ground.

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Then you could be looking at volcanoes.

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You could look at the humidity in the air, the temperature of the air, a whole lot of

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things that could be studied.

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So science is important to NASA, and this airplane could do some really good science

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over the next 10 years or so.

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And along those same lines, to be able to look down and look at the health of your forests,

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you could be looking at the health of crops, the health of your coral reef, the health

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of your river ways could be provided, I think, in a much more consistent fashion.

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So, John, what are your hopes for the future of the Helios?

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Well, we see Helios going all over the world, tens, hundreds, thousands of these airplanes.

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In fact, some of the applications, I think, are still to be discovered.

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There's all kinds of things that we envision as being exciting ways of improving people's

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life here on Earth.

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And it's exciting because I think that for a lot of people, even for aeronautical-type

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engineers just 10, 20, 30 years ago, I think they were kind of thinking, airplanes have

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pretty much kind of reached the limits, you know, let's concentrate somewhere else.

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But you know, some of the things that are going on at NASA tell us otherwise.

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There's a lot of exciting stuff that's still left to be discovered, and this is just one

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part of that.

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NASA researchers believe that a Helios-type aircraft may one day fly in the thin Martian

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atmosphere, which is similar to the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere.

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Up next, a revolutionary new technology is helping improve the early detection of breast

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cancer.

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But first, did you know that the Helios broke the altitude record for non-rocket-powered

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aircraft?

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The original record of 85,068 feet was set in 1976 by the Mach 3-capable SR-71 Blackbird.

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The Helios, flying at speeds around 20 miles an hour, climbed above 99 percent of the Earth's

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atmosphere and set the new record of 96,863 feet in the summer of 2001.

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All of us know or have known someone with cancer.

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In fact, one in three Americans can expect to be diagnosed with some form of the disease

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at one point in their life.

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A key to treating and defeating this insidious disease is to find it quickly before it spreads.

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Now, thanks to enterprising work done by researchers at NASA, doctors may soon have

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a new device called the Smart Probe, which will be able to detect some forms of cancer

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instantaneously, greatly improving the patient's chance for survival.

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Tonya Saint-Romain finds out more.

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Breast cancer is one of the most frightening and deadly forms of cancer, afflicting over

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200,000 women every year.

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Early detection of the disease has helped many women find and treat the cancer quickly,

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but early detection technology is still not as good as it could be.

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To help improve the early detection of breast cancer, researchers at NASA have developed

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a revolutionary technology called the Smart Probe.

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This probe will be able to detect the presence of cancer much more precisely than current

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technology.

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Intended for long-duration space missions, this device could soon be saving lives here

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on Earth.

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I spoke with Dr. Robert Ma at NASA Ames Research Center to find out more.

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At this point, when a woman suspects a lump in her breast, she would go in to see a physician.

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The physician would examine and then decide whether to have a mammogram made of the lump.

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And from the mammogram, you could tell whether it may be malignant or not.

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If it is suspected to be, they would then go in for a biopsy.

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They normally go in using an ultrasound to guide a biopsy needle and go in there and

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extract samples of the lump.

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And that tissue sample gets analyzed by a pathologist.

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And that could take days in some cases.

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If it is malignant or cancerous, they have to go in there and take out as much as they

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possibly can.

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Every week in the United States, approximately 16,000 women needlessly undergo surgical breast

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biopsies where no cancer is found at all, while another 4,600 breast cancers are missed

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each week during physician review of mammograms and physical examinations.

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This is primarily due to the fact that initial breast cancer screening procedures do not

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provide specific information about known cancer indicators.

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For example, a light spot on a mammogram X-ray can be many things other than cancer, leading

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to a missed or inaccurate diagnosis.

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The new NASA Smart Probe is designed to see a suspicious lump in a breast, determine by

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its features if it is indeed cancerous, and ultimately predict how the disease may progress.

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The process of diagnosis begins when a small needle, which is mounted on the probe, is

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inserted into the lump.

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The probe is able to detect if the lump is cancerous or benign instantaneously, providing

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real-time, detailed interpretations at the needle's tip, supplying an accurate diagnosis

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in seconds rather than days.

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What's behind this technology is the software.

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The software that we develop learns, like people do, it learns from experience.

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So we stick the probe into different types of tissue.

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We teach the software that those characteristics are certain types of tissue, normal tissue

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or whether it's, say, normal muscle or normal fat tissue, cancers or different types of

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cancer.

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If it is cancerous, instead of having to remove tissue around the tumor with a very wide margin,

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you could take less tissue out and you'd be more certain that you're not leaving behind

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malignant tissue there.

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So what you get here is confidence level as to what kind of tissue that the probe is seeing.

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How did NASA get involved in breast cancer research?

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It was clear that to put man on Mars and have him survive for three years, you need to provide

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him with smart tools for many different tasks, and the medical emergency is one of those.

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So that's where we started to work in that direction.

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In preparation for a three-year-long mission to Mars, NASA planners have begun to develop

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smart medical robotics.

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These robots will be able to assist an astronaut physician in performing medical procedures

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if a problem occurs during a mission.

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With Mars being over 30 million miles away, this is particularly important because a transmission

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to Earth would take 20 minutes, further endangering the stricken crew member when every second counts.

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How else might this technology be used here on Earth?

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This technology has great potential.

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It could be used for spinal surgery, it could be used for prostate cancer detection, it

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could be used for brain surgery and just surgery in general where you want to minimize injury

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to critical targets.

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Dr. Ma, what are your overall hopes for the smart probe?

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I'm very excited about this technology because what we're developing in space can be applied

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for Earth use.

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I think a tool like this, the technology behind it, would revolutionize how medical practices

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will be carried out, to be able to provide real-time diagnosis for virtually any kinds

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of medical problems they may have.

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So for me personally, it's very rewarding to see that the potential that it saves people's

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lives or even minimize risks to hundreds and thousands of people.

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That's really rewarding.

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When discussing manned space missions, the two American programs that are the most talked

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about are the Mercury and Apollo programs.

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One program that does not get as much attention, but which was instrumental in getting man

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to the moon, was Project Gemini.

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The Gemini missions flew between the Mercury and Apollo programs and allowed astronauts

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and planners to practice many of the procedures that would be important for future moon flights,

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paving the way for man to walk on the moon.

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Early in January of 1962, Project Gemini began.

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Because of the large time frame between Project Mercury and the Apollo flights, it became

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clear to NASA officials that more training in space flight was necessary to get men to

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the moon and back safely.

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Unlike the Mercury capsule, which could only hold one astronaut, the aptly named Gemini

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capsule could hold two astronauts and could be maneuvered in space by the crew.

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The ability to maneuver in space allowed astronauts to train for space rendezvous and docking.

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Learning these procedures would be critical to successfully return from the lunar surface

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and docking with the command module in lunar orbit.

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Gemini also needed to provide useful information about how the human body and man-made equipment

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would respond in the harsh environment of space.

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Up to that time, no one knew exactly what would happen to astronauts after being exposed

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to long-term microgravity.

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The program would consist of 10 manned missions, all of which were to be completed in 12 months.

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After two unmanned missions, the first manned mission, Gemini 3, was launched on March 23,

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1965.

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The flight was a complete success, proving how easily the astronauts could maneuver the

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craft.

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The flights that followed all saw success as well, including the first American spacewalk

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on Gemini 4, the first docking with two vehicles in space by Gemini 8, and a long-duration

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mission which lasted 14 days by Gemini 7.

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With the final flight of Gemini 12, all of the major objectives were met as well as many

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other mission objectives.

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With all the critical theories tested and proven, it was time for Apollo to go for the

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moon.

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The 10 manned Gemini flights spanned 603 days and accumulated over 1,940 man-hours in space.

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Of the 20 astronauts who trained for the Gemini flights, 15 of them went on to subsequently

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fly on Apollo missions in the lunar program.

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As the successes grew in Project Gemini, it became clear that man could, should and would

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fly to the moon and back safely, making history in the process.

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Because the crew consisted of two astronauts, the project was named Gemini for the third

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constellation's twin stars, Castor and Pollux.

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Coming up, we'll find out how NASA is helping to reduce aircraft noise.

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But first, did you know that the Gemini 3 was the only Gemini spacecraft to have a nickname?

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Because capsule commander Gus Grissom's previous spaceflight ended in the sinking of the Liberty

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Bell 7 capsule in the Atlantic Ocean, Grissom decided to name his capsule the Molly Brown,

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after the Broadway musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

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The United States aviation industry is a significant contributor to the nation's economy, boasting

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annual sales in excess of $36 billion and providing nearly one million jobs.

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However, with all of these benefits, one major drawback continues to be aircraft noise.

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In an effort to help alleviate excessive noise, NASA has developed the Quiet Aircraft

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Technology Program.

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This program is finding new and innovative ways to reduce noise created by aircraft.

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Jennifer Pulley finds out more.

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Noise generated by aircraft is already a major issue in airport neighbor communities.

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As airports expand to increase productivity and capacity, the noise issue will become

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even more critical.

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Noisy aircraft not only affect the people in communities surrounding the airport, but

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also the crew and passengers inside the planes.

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In an attempt to solve many of the noise issues associated with aircraft, NASA has embarked

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on an intriguing new mission to quiet our skies, called the Quiet Aircraft Technology

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Program, or QAT.

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This program will develop technologies to reduce aircraft noise by 50% in five years

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and begin working on the technologies to reduce aircraft noise by 75% in the next 20 years.

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I spoke with Andy Powell at NASA Langley Research Center to find out more.

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Well, on takeoff, most of the noise that you hear is due to the engine, both the fan in

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the front of the engine and the jet exhaust noise out of the rear engine.

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And what most people don't know is that on landing, a lot of the noise that you hear

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is actually due to the airframe passing through the air itself.

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This is because that on landing, the engine power is cut back, and a lot of parts of the

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aircraft are extended into the airflow and create turbulence.

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Now, the major sources of this airframe noise is the landing gear, the flaps on the trailing

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edges, and slats on the leading edges of the wings.

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In a recent government survey, noise was listed as the greatest environmental concern at airports.

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It is estimated that in the last 20 years, approximately $4 billion has been spent on

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or around airports to reduce noise pollution.

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This includes adding sound insulation to homes and schools in close proximity to an airport.

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Unfortunately, these techniques only help if you are inside an insulated building.

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Researchers at NASA realized that in order to fix the noise problem, they must first

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start at the source, the planes themselves.

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By designing and testing low-noise-producing aircraft parts and structures, NASA researchers

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are developing the technologies to reduce aircraft noise by half in five years, and

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by as much as three-fourths by the year 2020.

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Andy, what are some of the things you're working on here at NASA to make aircraft quieter?

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First we do studies to look at the sources of noise to try to determine which are the

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dominant sources so that we can know which sources can work on the hardest.

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Then we do other studies to try to determine the physical phenomena that are creating the

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noises and what we can do to reduce the levels.

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And then we go out and test concepts, either in wind tunnels or in the laboratory, and

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in some cases in actual flight tests, to validate those concepts.

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Some of the things that we're doing is to look at advanced fairings to put around the

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landing gear to smooth the flow around the landing gear so that you don't have as much

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turbulence and therefore reduce the noise.

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We're also looking at other fairings that we can put on the slats so that you don't

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have side edges to create noise.

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We're also modifying the fan blades so that they're actually quieter from the design of

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the fan blades.

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If you can smooth the airflow around these parts, then reducing that turbulence will

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reduce the noise considerably.

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00:20:14,020 --> 00:20:17,380
Andy, what about the exhaust noise coming out of an aircraft?

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00:20:17,380 --> 00:20:21,940
Okay, well one of the things that we did was look at what we call Chevron nozzles.

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These are actually scallops in the back of the exhaust pipes, essentially, of the aircraft.

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And as hot exhaust gases come out of an aircraft engine, then they mix with the surrounding

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air and this turbulence, when they're mixing, creates a lot of the noise that you hear.

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Now by putting these Chevrons along the edges, we're changing the shape of the turbulence

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so that you raise it to a higher frequency, which then is absorbed more by the atmosphere

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than the low-frequency, normal jet noise.

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The Chevron nozzles have actually been test flown full-scale on other major aircraft,

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and we expect that these will actually be coming in on the production of aircraft engines

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in the very near future.

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You talked about engine and airframe noise.

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Are there other ways to reduce noise without major design alterations to an airplane?

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00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,480
Yes, we're actually looking at new ways to fly the aircraft around the airport so that

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they minimize the exposure of people to the aircraft noise.

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For instance, around a lot of airports, they fly noise abatement procedures to get the

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flights away from schools and houses.

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But in some situations, if the wind is blowing, these flight paths may not be the optimum

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flight path because of the effects that wind has on the sound propagation.

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00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,120
So we're doing studies on improving the prediction of sound propagation to include the effects

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of wind, weather, and this way we hope that we will be able to reduce the noise and have

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the planes fly optimal paths.

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00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,400
And finally, what are your overall hopes for the QAT program?

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One of the three elements in NASA's vision is to improve life here on planet Earth.

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We think through this Quad Aircraft Technology Program, we're making a major contribution

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to improving the life of people and the environment around airports, both in the nation and throughout

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the world.

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Ultimately, NASA would like to reduce airport noise so that no one outside the airport boundary

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is adversely affected.

315
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There is no doubt that spacesuit design has come a long way.

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00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:17,560
Early U.S. spacesuits were adapted from pressure suits designed for pilots of high-altitude

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00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,600
military and experimental aircraft.

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Today, modern suits are a reliable and mobile unit that astronauts depend on during spaceflight.

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00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,200
Our own Johnny Alonzo found out more about spacesuits and how they work.

320
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,800
Space is an incredibly brutal environment.

321
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:41,240
Not only is there no atmospheric pressure or oxygen to sustain life, but human explorers

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must also deal with intense radiation and extreme temperatures in order to perform even

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the most basic tasks.

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Inside a spacecraft, the atmosphere can be controlled so that special clothing isn't

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needed.

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But when outside, humans need the protection of a spacesuit.

327
00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,920
In 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard wore one of the first suits designed for spaceflight aboard

328
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:02,360
the Freedom 7 spacecraft.

329
00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:06,640
This suit was actually a modified version of a Navy high-altitude jet aircraft pressure

330
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:07,640
suit.

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00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,080
Spacesuits have come a long way since then.

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The current Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU, is the result of many years of research

333
00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:19,520
and development, and is also a powerful tool for operations outside the International Space

334
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Station and the shuttle.

335
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:25,920
I spoke with engineer Phil West to find out how it works.

336
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,160
Most people have this preconceived idea that a spacesuit is pretty simple.

337
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,960
Heavy cloth and things, but it's really a mini-spacecraft that lets you step out into

338
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:34,760
this very harsh environment.

339
00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:36,600
What are the consequences of not wearing a spacesuit?

340
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:38,840
Well, it's a bad day if you don't wear your spacesuit.

341
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:40,480
First of all, there's a vacuum in space, right?

342
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,200
So just like when you open a soda bottle, it's going to fizz, right?

343
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:45,480
Your body will do the same thing.

344
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,080
And literally what's happening is your body fluids, your blood, and everything are going

345
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:49,080
to boil.

346
00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:51,000
And it's not because of temperature, it's because of pressure.

347
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,480
Remove the pressure and that stuff wants to come out.

348
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,640
So then you've got temperature extremes, and I don't mean temperature of space.

349
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You need molecules to have temperature.

350
00:23:58,380 --> 00:24:02,000
But your temperature, the spacecraft's temperature, can get very cold or very hot depending on

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00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,360
whether you're in the sun or in the shade or the things around you.

352
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:08,400
And then there's little particles of natural or human-made stuff that fly around space

353
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,840
at high speeds and could literally hit you.

354
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,320
Or micrometeoroids, natural stuff that comes in from elsewhere.

355
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:15,720
What are modern spacesuits made out of?

356
00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,440
Think of the spacesuit as a balloon shaped like your body.

357
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,160
And we've got to have a layer to make that balloon.

358
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,660
So we use this urethane-coated nylon.

359
00:24:23,660 --> 00:24:26,800
That's like camping tent material, but it's got a coating on it to seal it up.

360
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:28,880
And that's the basic layer that holds all the gas in.

361
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:30,720
We put that and we make it the shape of your body.

362
00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:31,720
We call it the bladder.

363
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,960
Now, what would happen to a balloon if you inflated it too much?

364
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:35,960
It'll pop.

365
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:37,060
Right, pop, which is bad.

366
00:24:37,060 --> 00:24:38,480
So in a spacesuit world, anyway.

367
00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:39,480
So we've got to constrain it.

368
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:40,760
We've got to make sure it's the right shape.

369
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:44,600
So we use this polyester layer to give it structure and strength and make sure it's the

370
00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,720
right shape of your body, the right size, arm length, et cetera.

371
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,160
So that's the first two key layers of the spacesuit.

372
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:51,840
Then remember temperature extremes we talked about?

373
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:52,840
Yes.

374
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:54,360
Okay, we have five layers of aluminized mylar.

375
00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:56,880
So now think of the spacesuit as a thermos bottle.

376
00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:58,940
You know how a thermos bottle works?

377
00:24:58,940 --> 00:25:03,280
It's got a vacuum between an insulator and a glass jar with a silvery coating on it.

378
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:05,320
So that's for thermal protection.

379
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:09,280
And then a real tough layer of Nomex with Teflon coating on it.

380
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:10,880
I feel that's kind of slick, right?

381
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,040
It's got Kevlar woven into it, a very strong fiber.

382
00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,280
And that's so you don't get tears and you protect all these other layers very well,

383
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:18,280
right?

384
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:19,280
You don't want to get a hole in here because you don't want to get a hole back here in

385
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:20,280
your bladder.

386
00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:21,280
No, you don't, right.

387
00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:22,280
Phil, how do these spacesuits operate?

388
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,880
Well, you've got a control pack on the front and a life support system on the back, all

389
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:26,880
right?

390
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:28,400
And that life support system is more than just oxygen.

391
00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:33,480
It's got batteries for power, a radio for communications, a computer, and a bunch of

392
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,740
plumbing and things to keep you alive.

393
00:25:35,740 --> 00:25:38,680
And that's all controlled up in the front here with this control pack.

394
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,080
And so we've got some places for the astronaut control like their communications equipment.

395
00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:44,880
You can open that valve if you're soothed or pressurized.

396
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:48,440
There's a little dial there to change your communications mode and a little display to

397
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,880
tell you, hey, you know, Johnny, you've only got 3% battery power left.

398
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:54,760
Pack up your toys and bring it on in.

399
00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:58,360
And then controls in the front here for volume and your position, whether you're inside or

400
00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:01,040
outside the spacecraft is up here on the front.

401
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:02,040
And what's this dial?

402
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:03,040
Well, that's for temperature.

403
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:04,920
Remember, we're inside a thermos bottle, okay?

404
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:06,120
And you're a heat engine.

405
00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:07,160
You're actually producing heat.

406
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:08,920
You're not just like hot chocolate.

407
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,080
Hot chocolate in a thermos bottle stays warm, but it doesn't get any hotter.

408
00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:13,360
You would get hotter, right?

409
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:14,360
You'd overheat.

410
00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:17,160
Literally, your own body heat would be your downfall because your body heat is going to

411
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:18,160
have nowhere to go.

412
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,320
It's going to be trapped in there with you.

413
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:21,320
That's what happens in a space suit.

414
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:26,200
So literally, what we'll do is pump cold water all over your body through long underwear

415
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:27,200
like this.

416
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:28,200
Check that out.

417
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:29,200
All right?

418
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:30,200
And so that is plumbed.

419
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:31,440
This connects inside the suit.

420
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,040
And then this dial controls the temperature of the water that flows over your body through

421
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:36,040
all these tubes.

422
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:37,840
There's enough tube in there to stretch the length of a football field.

423
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:38,920
Really?

424
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:39,920
And you can actually see the water.

425
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:40,920
See the air bubbles in there?

426
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:41,920
There's a few air bubbles.

427
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:42,920
Sure, sure.

428
00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:43,920
It's all charged right now.

429
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:46,920
So Phil, off the record.

430
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:48,920
How do you relieve yourself from one of these?

431
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:49,920
Good question.

432
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,160
You know, well, you've got a drink bag, so you're going to want to drink some water.

433
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,200
And eventually, that's got a place to go.

434
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,240
Well, it's pretty technical.

435
00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:58,240
It's a diaper.

436
00:26:58,240 --> 00:26:59,240
Lovely.

437
00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:00,440
The whole idea was, let's save money.

438
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:02,640
Let's use adult off-the-shelf diapers.

439
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,560
We sew extra material into them.

440
00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:06,040
They work great.

441
00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,040
If you can get past the idea that your mom told you not to go in your pants.

442
00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:10,040
Hey, Phil, thanks a lot.

443
00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:11,040
Yeah.

444
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:12,040
For giving us all the info about our spacesuits.

445
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:13,040
Sure.

446
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:16,040
Listen, I was wondering, can I get like a souvenir off this?

447
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:17,040
Oh, man.

448
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:18,040
I wish I could, but there's no way.

449
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:19,040
It's so cool.

450
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:20,040
It's pretty nice stuff.

451
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,040
We really can't wait.

452
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:22,040
Well, you know what?

453
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:23,040
Actually, this is used.

454
00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:24,040
We don't need the diaper anymore.

455
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,040
You can have that.

456
00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,040
That's all for this edition of Destination Tomorrow.

457
00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:30,040
Thanks for joining us.

458
00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:31,040
I'm Steel McGonigal.

459
00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:32,040
And I'm Kara O'Brien.

460
00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,040
For all of us here at NASA, we'll see you next time.

461
00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:37,040
We'll see you next time.

462
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:38,040
Bye-bye.

463
00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:39,040
Bye.

464
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:39,040


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Music