Spacewalk Aborted When Water Fills Astronaut's Helmet

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Spacewalk Aborted When Water Fills Astronaut's Helmet

Posted by timothy on Tuesday July 16, 2013 @03:30AM from the could-be-worse-could-be-aliens dept.

astroengine writes "A planned six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station came to a dramatic and abrupt end on Tuesday when water started building up inside the helmet of Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano. Parmitano and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy were less than an hour into their spacewalk, their second in a week, when Parmitano reported that his head felt wet. 'My head is really wet and I have a feeling it's increasing,' Parmitano reported to ground control teams at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Parmitano returned safely to the space station interior, but the cause of the leak was not immediately known."

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Close call by dadelbunts · 2013-07-16 03:32 · Score: 5, Funny

Would have sucked to be the first person to drown in outer space.
1. Re:Close call by Anonymous Coward · 2013-07-16 03:39 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Don't astronauts train underwater? It sounds like some sound stage technician fucked up.
2. Re:Close call by ONOIML8 · 2013-07-16 03:44 · Score: 2
  
  In space no one can hear you gurgle.
  
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  . Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
3. Re:Close call by Anonymous Coward · 2013-07-16 03:56 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Would have sucked to be the first person to drown in outer space.
  No, it would suck to asphyxiate in space.
4. Re:Close call by ackthpt · 2013-07-16 04:00 · Score: 2
  
  Don't astronauts train underwater? It sounds like some sound stage technician fucked up.
  What, like he was in a pool in outer space? Um...
  
  --
  
  A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
5. Re:Close call by plover · 2013-07-16 04:01 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Parmitano: "Hey, I gotta leak in my helmet!"
  Cassidy: "Go ahead. It's your helmet."
  
  --
  John
6. Re:Close call by Feyshtey · 2013-07-16 04:09 · Score: 1
  
  Whoosh.
  
  --
  "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,..." - Nancy Pelosi
7. Re:Close call by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-07-16 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  I think this was the first instance of a helmetary edema.
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
8. Re:Close call by SilentStaid · 2013-07-16 04:25 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  In space, no one can hear the woosh.
9. Re:Close call by Anonymous Coward · 2013-07-16 05:16 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  somebody should have told him its the NSA not Nasa thats supposed to supress leaks
10. Re:Close call by R3d+M3rcury · 2013-07-16 06:33 · Score: 1
  
  Versus, say, asphyxiating on Earth?
11. Re:Close call by X0563511 · 2013-07-16 06:49 · Score: 1
  
  What do you think drowning is?
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
12. Re:Close call by FluffyBob · 2013-07-17 01:17 · Score: 1
  
  Some peoples' subtle is other peoples' meh.
13. Re:Close call by gagol · 2013-07-27 21:18 · Score: 1
  
  More likely from various life support system of said space suit.
  
  --
  Tomorrow is another day...
I guess those Space Nutters were right by Anonymous Coward · 2013-07-16 03:34 · Score: 1

There is water in space!
1. Re:I guess those Space Nutters were right by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-07-16 04:06 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  I'm not a rocket surgeon; but I'd guess a failure somewhere in the PLLS. That component is supposed to condense and remove water vapor from the gas(as well as scrubbing CO2 and adding oxygen if needed) before reintroducing the fresh atmosphere into the astronaut's helmet.
  Between a possible failure in the mechanism for removing condensation(which would cause the output to be alarmingly damp if you aren't expecting it; but would be a self-limiting problem since there just isn't that much water vapor available), there is the more serious possibility that the LCVG, or the heat exchanger that keeps the coolant water in that chilled, is leaking, which might actually end up being enough water to impair breathing(especially with surface tension but not gravity), or impair the cooling functions enough to threaten the astronaut's ability to function. If he's on a tether, they'd presumably just reel him in if he were to pass out from thermal overload; but a free walk would not be a good time to lose consciousness...
2. Re:I guess those Space Nutters were right by dragon-file · 2013-07-16 05:16 · Score: 1
  
  Italian perspiration. 'Nuf said.
  
  --
  Whenever a player quits EVE to go play WoW, the Average IQ of both games increase.
3. Re:I guess those Space Nutters were right by icebike · 2013-07-16 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  It could have been a leak in the liquid cooling used in the space suit.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
4. Re:I guess those Space Nutters were right by John+Pfeiffer · 2013-07-16 05:23 · Score: 1
  
  My first thought was a leak in the LCVG, which I would have to imagine would already suck big time during a multi-hour spacewalk just from water getting loose in the suit... (Especially if it's getting up into the helmet!) Physiological effects from the cooling failure are just the icing on the cake.
  
  --
  
  Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
5. Re:I guess those Space Nutters were right by prisoner-of-enigma · 2013-07-16 05:59 · Score: 1
  
  Could've been a leak of the drinking water supply, unless they no longer have those in the suits.
  
  --
  In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
6. Re:I guess those Space Nutters were right by Kelbear · 2013-07-16 07:56 · Score: 2
  
  I would have lost my shit on the spot. Man, just imagining myself floating out there on a spacewalk 200 miles above the earth, and feeling water on my head that isn't supposed be there...*shudder*. Just being up there is a spectacular balancing act of hundreds of special-purpose technologies that nearly all result in a horrible horrible death should they go wrong, finding even the slightest thing going wrong would freak me out.
  Calls to mind the trailer for Alfonso Cuaron's (director for Children of Men) new movie "Gravity":
  http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2518132249?ref_=tt_pv_vi_1
7. Re:I guess those Space Nutters were right by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-07-16 08:15 · Score: 2
  
  The astronaut is quoted as saying that it didn't taste like water from the drinking water supply. Could be that, once steeped in helmet-gunk and hair, it tastes different, could be from a coolant loop.
Terrible. by philip.paradis · 2013-07-16 03:36 · Score: 4, Funny

This story is all wet, but at least it holds its water.

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Write failed: Broken pipe
Thanks Obama by Ceriel+Nosforit · 2013-07-16 03:37 · Score: 5, Funny

What will the government do to stop these leaks?!

--
All rites reversed 2010
1. Re:Thanks Obama by c0lo · 2013-07-16 03:47 · Score: 1
  
  What will the government do to stop these leaks?!
  Why, that's elementary... apply some pressure... on other govts to refuse the landing.
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
2. Re:Thanks Obama by steelfood · 2013-07-16 05:08 · Score: 1
  
  Obviously, NASA needs a bigger budget.
  
  --
  "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
I suspect DHMO contamination by philip.paradis · 2013-07-16 03:38 · Score: 5, Funny

I've been trying to warn the public about the inherent dangers of DHMO for years, but my cries have fallen on deaf ears. Perhaps someone at NASA will listen now.

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Write failed: Broken pipe
1. Re:I suspect DHMO contamination by AdamStarks · 2013-07-16 04:21 · Score: 1
  
  I've been trying to warn the public about the inherent dangers of DHMO for years, but my cries have fallen on deaf ears. Perhaps someone at NSA will listen now.
  FTFY
2. Re:I suspect DHMO contamination by Anonymous Coward · 2013-07-16 05:19 · Score: 1
  
  They already are listening
3. Re:I suspect DHMO contamination by SleazyRidr · 2013-07-16 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  If your story is true, I'm glad you pushed at least one person out of the wrong major.
  
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  Is 1563649 a prime number?
I'm drinking it and peeing as fast as I can! by sideslash · 2013-07-16 03:39 · Score: 1, Insightful

I'm glad our guys and gals at NASA are so professional. I would not make a very good mission control team member in this circumstance.
Re:don't worry by Anonymous Coward · 2013-07-16 03:40 · Score: 1

One of the least popular practical jokes on the ISS is swapping the regular space suit with a far less practical stillsuit.
What does it smell like in a space suit? by stevegee58 · 2013-07-16 03:44 · Score: 5, Funny

Depends.
1. Re:What does it smell like in a space suit? by r2kordmaa · 2013-07-16 09:37 · Score: 1
  
  My guess would be that it smells like an astronaut(or taikonaut or cosmonaut) who has not had a bath for a while.
"no alarms by ssam · 2013-07-16 03:49 · Score: 2

and No Surprises"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5CVsCnxyXg
Fills.... by Crudely_Indecent · 2013-07-16 03:53 · Score: 4, Funny

Fills... I do not think it means what you think it means.

--

"Lame" - Galaxar
1. Re:Fills.... by Crudely_Indecent · 2013-07-16 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  Still, a better - more accurate word could have been used. For example, "filling" would have been more accurate... I might have chosen "rapidly accumulating" - as the helmet was not approaching full after only 500ml (around the same amount as a bottle of soda).
  My gas tank is full at 12 gallons, so 2 gallons does not make it full. Had the accumulation continued at the same rate, his helmet might have indeed been full at the end of a 6 1/2 hour walk - but, he didn't make it that far, didn't accumulate that much, and never achieved "full".
  Judging from the moderation, most everyone else gets my joke and reference. For the rest - you really need to see "The Princess Bride" - and watch "Blazing Saddles" after.
  'scuse me while I whip this out!
  
  --
  
  "Lame" - Galaxar
2. Re:Fills.... by Crudely_Indecent · 2013-07-16 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  Having seen the EVA suits many times since childhood, I know that there is a lot of room in the helmet - those things are huge.
  While I agree that it's an amount worth being concerned about - my point is that "full" has a specific meaning. If the astronaut didn't drown, the helmet wasn't full.
  
  --
  
  "Lame" - Galaxar
Cooling system leak by bruce_the_loon · 2013-07-16 03:55 · Score: 5, Insightful

Sounds like it was a leak in the inner-jacket cooling system that circulates water around the astronaut's body. Can't be a fun experience though,

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1. Re:Cooling system leak by Bengie · 2013-07-16 05:08 · Score: 2
  
  "a liquid mercury". I'm not sure if it can be considered a liquid if there's is only one.
2. Re:Cooling system leak by X0563511 · 2013-07-16 06:51 · Score: 1
  
  Especially not once the cooling system fails because you're swimming in it instead of it circulating.
  Hot and wet, in a cramped suit. Ick.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Which head was wet by sl4shd0rk · 2013-07-16 03:55 · Score: 1, Funny

Just sayin... could explain the whole problem.

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Water cooling leak? by Bacon+Bits · 2013-07-16 03:57 · Score: 2

The most obvious source I can think for this would be a leak in the water cooling suit astronauts wear to keep cool while in the space suit.

--
The road to tyranny has always been paved with claims of necessity.
NASA Experiment Goes Awry by HangingChad · 2013-07-16 04:23 · Score: 3, Funny

NASA's first attempt to launch goldfish into space goes awry when astronauts accidentally mix up the experiment and their EVA suit .
NASA insists the goldfish are fine and experienced only minimal distress during their brief EVA.

--
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
The Waters of Mars by gregthebunny · 2013-07-16 04:28 · Score: 4, Funny

They're a few decades early... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waters_of_Mars
Re:Obligatory Reference: UFO (Gerry Anderson) by Virtucon · 2013-07-16 04:52 · Score: 1

That was a cool series...

--
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Re:Now They're Waterboarding Astronauts??? by Virtucon · 2013-07-16 04:54 · Score: 2

Too late, we're on our way.

--
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Hmm by Richy_T · 2013-07-16 05:01 · Score: 1

Had he left a tube of biscuit dough in the back of his space-suit?
(OK, this is *very* obscure)
1. Re:Hmm by Em+Adespoton · 2013-07-16 05:36 · Score: 2
  
  Cm'on... I'm sure at least 20% of slashdot readers have seen that Mythbusters episode....
  I doubt he was returning from his spacewalk with the week's groceries stuffed in his suit though.
Re:'Fills'? by Richy_T · 2013-07-16 05:05 · Score: 1

Yeah, I'm not letting this joker pump my gas...
So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by Virtucon · 2013-07-16 05:08 · Score: 1

I know the suits use water cooling and there's also a drinking water supply system, so this causes a minor inconvenience. It wasn't like when Ed White did the first US spacewalk and his suit inflated to a size such that he couldn't get back into the Gemini Capsule. Some think he was just trying to get some extra spacewalk time but that seems a bit more like a real show stopper. In this case the guy just got a wet head and a shorted out comm system.

--
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
1. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by X0563511 · 2013-07-16 06:53 · Score: 1
  
  If it was the cooling system that's a no-go. Once that runs dry, heat will start to build up in the suit.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
2. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by Virtucon · 2013-07-16 08:14 · Score: 1
  
  Oh no question but the guy can always go back inside. It's not like he's 50 miles away from the station? I guess the thing that makes it newsworthy is that it happens in space whereas an Oil Rig Diver who has an oxygen tank failure is less newsworthy because it isn't plastered all over the world news. As Super Chicken once said: "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred."
  
  --
  Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
3. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by X0563511 · 2013-07-16 09:27 · Score: 1
  
  I find it interesting that you don't see the difference between a dangerous job on the ground/sea and a dangerous job in orbit...
  Shows how far we've come, eh?
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
4. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by Virtucon · 2013-07-16 10:03 · Score: 2
  
  Uhm, both are hazardous and I know a few of those Deep Sea guys. Sometimes they live pressurized for weeks at a time when working deep. So for all intents and purposes if their equipment fails, they may die. If the guy out in space has a problem with his equipment he may die too. I just say there's more eyes on the folks on the ISS than there are out in the Ocean so I guess the perspective is relative.
  People step up to do these kinds of jobs so they know the risks, I say good job but there's probably a 100 page procedure in the flight control manual for this kind of problem anyway so "yes, the bureaucracy works!" Now if it was a couple of guys who built their own rocket in their back yard with spare change from their jobs at 7-11 and they were up there in orbit, we could stand back and say wow. But this is the ISS, the over-budget, over-priced lab where the Italians made the trash module (DaVinci Module is a giant trashcan). Let's face it the ISS is a bit boring and dull. Oh look another crew oh look a spacewalk. Sorry if that's cynical but hell, let's go back to the moon, let's go to Mars or further instead of a few miles up. We've been there enough already and it's time to move on.
  
  --
  Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
5. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by garyebickford · 2013-07-16 13:53 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  But this is the ISS, the over-budget, over-priced lab where the Italians made the trash module (DaVinci Module is a giant trashcan). Let's face it the ISS is a bit boring and dull. Oh look another crew oh look a spacewalk. Sorry if that's cynical but hell, let's go back to the moon, let's go to Mars or further instead of a few miles up.
  I just have to chime in here. Things have changed. And whether it was too expensive or not, that's in the past.
  Now, the ISS is a critical element in the commercial/private space research and development that will take us to those other places in a real, "moving in and staying" kinda way. Almost every piece of hardware and technology will be tested on the ISS before it goes anywhere. For example, right now on the ISS is a 3D printer being tested to see how it works in microgravity, and learn what engineering changes will be required. 3D printing, or 'additive manufacturing' is one of the critical enabling technologies for long term travel, such as trips to Mars. And a Bigelow expandable habitat will be sent up and attached to the ISS for long term testing, soon.
  Believe it or not, today the govt. is actually working to get out of the way, and really allow the ISS to be as useful as it could be. I'm kinda involved in some of the 'New Space' efforts. One very cool thing that the govt has done is designate the ISS as a National Laboratory (like Los Alamos, LLL, Sandia, Argonne, etc.) and has set up a program to provide free access for qualifying research - free launch, free astronaut activities (limited to a bit of button pushing) and free return. Administration has been delegated to an NGO (CASIS). So this is a beyond-world-class scientific laboratory, available for free for whomever comes up with something interesting. And they (not just NASA, but several other agencies as well) _really_ want to show some good results - that's what will justify continued support.
  This could be as important for space research and development as anything we've seen. Scheduling of experiments (built into one of the three standard rack systems, from the Nanorack size to full 19" rack) has changed so that, where in the past it could take two or three years to get an experiment approved and launched, now it's possible to get your experiment launched in a few months. It still will cost a company $300,000 or so to design, build, test and get through the approval process (quite a bit less for a volunteer/student project with free labor and scrounged materials) but this is a game changer.
  One company I'm (distantly) involved with is doing biotech research, and plans to run two or more experiments per year over the next couple of years. If their research pans out, the fruit of that research may well justify at least the cost of running the station over that time.
  TL;DR - the ISS is turning from a government boutique research facility into a major tool for independent R&D, and will be instrumental in making commercial space and space development economically and technically possible.
  
  --
  It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
6. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by X0563511 · 2013-07-17 01:15 · Score: 1
  
  Oh look another crew oh look a spacewalk.
  Exactly. Do you realize that EVA has become mundane? Think about that for a minute.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
7. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by Virtucon · 2013-07-17 02:16 · Score: 1
  
  No more than when Apollo 8 mission coverage caused folks to freak out for interrupting a football game.
  Back then a phone call wasn't cheap either.
  
  --
  Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
8. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by Virtucon · 2013-07-17 02:26 · Score: 1
  
  Okay, science, industry, great. The technology boon that came out of Apollo for example was great for the US and the world but the ISS is really getting on in years now and if routine problems cause everybody to gasp in shock, then we have truly become a world of twitter trackers with each message causing us to stop and pause to ponder whether or not one of the Kardashians has a new wart or looks to fat in this pic? I would question why you need a 3D printer in space anyway, at least at this point. What we're saying here is that the ISS has become an industrial research facility, which is fine. Start charging companies for the overhead, the launches etc. to get the research or allow them to send up their own research requests, for a fee.. There, commercializing space.
  Next? How about some exploration not just rovers but manned missions? Oh wait, we don't have a crew launch capability now, we scrubbed that because this shiney ISS thingy got in the way.
  Looking back, If I were the Russians, I'd be pissed that the US and the rest of the world got them to scrap MIR just in order to replace it with the ISS.
  
  --
  Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
9. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by garyebickford · 2013-07-17 03:26 · Score: 1
  
  The 3D printer is there for testing the whole principle of 3D printing - it's one of the ongoing experiments... But it's also produced useful things on the ISS already.
  The ISS deliveries are one of the primary financial and technological drivers of companies like SpaceX to get their 'space legs' - and SpaceX has already been instrumental in dropping freight launch costs by 50% (not to just the ISS but all small/medium launches), saving everyone money with good ol' competition and innovation. Notice how important it has been for SpaceX and the other rocket companies to meet NASA requirements and succeed with their required tests before acceptance to launch to the ISS.
  Also, it's already the case that the ISS is getting some things for free from companies that just want to have access, and aren't charging NASA for stuff that used to cost the government $$. I think that's how Nanoracks works, but I may be off.
  As for charging companies - at some point that might happen. But recognize that assisting US companies (and I think companies from other ISS-supporting nations but I'm not sure) to do R&D has paid off handsomely in the past - the R&D tax credits of the 1980s was a primary cause of the tech boom that started in the 1980s, continued into the 1990s and to some extent still continues. Analyses of that showed a return on the order of 10x to 100x, possibly more depending on how you count, in tax revenues from the companies that resulted - companies like Oracle, Sun, and Apple. R&D support on the ISS will almost certainly result in a new space-based tech boom, if things proceed the way they are today. The quality of your life will be surprisingly dependent on how the tech advances developed on the ISS pan out.
  And the government's teensy investment in allowing these startups (mostly) to have access to the station (using extra space on rockets that are going there anyway - no cost to gov) will pay for itself many times over. Which is better - to charge $1 million for launch and access today (thereby reducing the number of experiments that actually go there by a factor of twenty or 50 to one or two per year), eliminating a couple dozen new high tech businesses and their possible future revenues, tax receipts and benefits to society, or allow them access 'at cost' (which is nearly free in terms of marginal cost) and create this new industry - an industry that is likely to eventually become one or two orders of magnitude larger than the present Silicon Valley?
  (Fun economics 101 facts: in a mature economy, technological advance is the only factor that increases the standard of living. All government programs can do is shuffle money from one hand to another, and shuffle money from one time to another.)
  So, all in all, I recommend checking into what's going on today on the ISS - go to the NewSpace 2013 conference in San Jose July 25-27. Next year go to SpaceTech in Long Beach, and/or ISDC at LAX. See what's happening. There's a lot going on, and the ISS is a center of it. And quit with the sour grapes!! :D I bet you're just jealous 'cause you can't go up there yourself!
  
  --
  It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
10. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by Virtucon · 2013-07-17 04:18 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, I'm going to miss the conference. If they had to payload my ass into space I'd bankrupt the whole US economy. In any event you do know that Sun is out of business right? ;-)
  
  --
  Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
11. Re:So a plastic tube leaks.. wow. by garyebickford · 2013-07-17 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  Ah, Sun. How the mighty have fallen. Every company, like any organism, has a lifespan. Back in the early-mid 1980s when Sun had only been public for a little while, the stock was selling at $16.25 - one of my very first stock purchases. I bought 100 shares. Two years later the stock had not budged from $16.25, and I needed some cash so I sold it. (I should have at least done a little research, but ...) A week later it was at $24 and never looked back. I think it split seven times by 2000. I think my $1625 would have been worth something over $100,000 by then.
  
  --
  It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
Methods for Helmet Water Relocation by DarthVain · 2013-07-16 05:57 · Score: 1

If only Humans had some method for consuming and then excreting water...
See Homer Simpson for details.
Of course I am assuming it is water and not some non-drinkable coolant liquid.
Re:Water? by sunderland56 · 2013-07-16 06:02 · Score: 1

Luca's mom just called - she wanted to know why he didn't go *before* he left the space station.
Obligatory "Alien" reference by gestalt_n_pepper · 2013-07-16 06:31 · Score: 2

In space, no one can hear you gargle....

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Overheard Transmission to astronaut Luca Parmitano by LifesABeach · 2013-07-16 06:55 · Score: 1

Ground Control: "You're supposed to do that BEFORE you go outside."
Re:overwhelming... by LifesABeach · 2013-07-16 07:06 · Score: 1

Must... not... make.... Italian jokes.... Especially tapping helmet with glove...
What Houston should have said by paiute · 2013-07-16 07:11 · Score: 1

It's okay - you breathed it for nine months once.

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Eric knows nothing about this leak. by theendlessnow · 2013-07-16 08:45 · Score: 1

Eric just wants some peace and quiet.
On Apollo 15 too by MichaelSmith · 2013-07-16 10:02 · Score: 1

The crew broke their water nozzle when re-entering the LM and flooded the floor of the space craft with water. Some of it had to be dumped overboard in cans the next time they decompressed.

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http://michaelsmith.id.au
Heinlein saw this one coming too... by costa.wm.f · 2013-07-17 05:53 · Score: 1

In the novel "Have Space Suit -- Will Travel", Kip and Peewee are on the moon and trying to escape the bad guys by walking to the nearest lunar base. Peewee complaints about being thirsty. Kip, in his professional grade, if obsolete, space suit has a water nipple and he is momentarily incensed that Peewee's moon-tourist space suit doesn't. But then he realizes that it would probably be a bad idea because a tourist might bite the nipple off and drown in the suit. (At least that's the way I remember it.) BTW -- according to Wikipedia, there may be a movie in the works, based on this novel.
Re:overwhelming... by shentino · 2013-07-27 23:04 · Score: 1

Since water was involved you'd be better off making a plumber joke. ...wait...