Natalie Doucette (grade 5) – Oldfield Consolidated, NS

A spacewalk is also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA). It refers to any activity that’s taking place outside of the protection of a spacecraft. There are three types of EVAs:

1. Planned EVAs: EVAs that are worked out prior to the mission as part of the mission objectives 
2. Unscheduled EVAs: EVAs that are not planned but are necessary for mission success
3. Contingency EVAs: EVAs that are performed as an emergency to save the spacecraft and/or its crew. (No contingency EVAs have ever been performed but there are always two people on every mission who are trained just for this purpose.)

	Lorne Goudie's classe (grade 6)– Bishop’s Falls Academy, NF
	Elizabeth Tumblin's class (grade 3) – Athena  School, PEI
	Bradyn Golda (grade) – Steinhauer School, Alberta
	Katharine Quinton's class – London Children’s Museum, Ontario

To be prepared for a spacewalk, the astronaut has to be physically fit. This means that the astronaut is regularly doing cardiovascular workouts and weight lifting. He or she is also doing additional strength training exercises to build the extra muscle power they will need to move around once they are outside the shuttle or Station.

To get used to the feeling of floating in space, astronauts practice UNDERWATER. The buoyancy or upward floating feeling that water provides is similar to the sensation of floating and moving in the weightless environment of space.

Astronauts who are helping to construct the International Space Station train in giant water tanks—the largest being at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This water tank is so huge that it can house a full-scale model of the International Space Station!

Colin Milligan' class (grade 6-7) – Empress Public School, Ontario

The spacesuit with its built-in life support system is also known as an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). The EMU is made up of 18 parts and 14 layers. In fact the suit weighs a total of 114 kg or 250 lb when worn on Earth.

Chris Hadfield explains what it is like to work from inside the spacesuit.

Basic Parts of the Space Suit

	Michèle (grade 6) – École les Prés Verts, Quebec
	Norman Littlejohn's class (grade 6) – Francis School, NF
	E.M. (grade 4) – Hilldale Public School, Ontario

The need to breathe is probably the most obvious reason that an astronaut needs to wear a spacesuit. Like a spacecraft, the suit offers a stable environment to work in and protection from the harsh realities of space. Another reason astronauts wear the suit is to maintain pressure around the body. On Earth, pressure is exerted in all directions. If there were no pressure, the air in our lungs would rush out. The gases in our body fluids would expand and boil off. To ensure the astronaut's survival in space, the suit needs to be pressurized. Therefore, the spacesuit is necessary in providing an environment that supplies oxygen for breathing, protects the astronaut from the extremes of heat and cold and from radiation exposure, as well as maintaining pressure around the body.

How do you keep cool in your big space suit?

Matthew Longman (grade 4) – Tallahassee Community School, NS

To help spacewalkers stay cool during a spacewalk or Extravehicluar Activity (EVA), researchers developed the Liquid Cooling-and-Ventilation Garment. The garment is a one-piece body suit with a zippered-front. Its soft nylon lining is covered with an additional layer of SpandexTM and a network of plastic tubing that surrounds the body. This tubing is used for cooling and ventilating the suit. A set of tubes is used to circulate cool liquid, while another set of tubes is used to transport sweat, carbon dioxide, and any other contaminants into the Primary Life Support System to purify the atmosphere within the suit.

Michèle (grade 6) – Ecole les Prés Verts, QC

A lot of precautions are taken so that an astronaut is not lost in space. Astronauts hook up to a tether, similar in concept to the safety ropes that mountain climbers use. Tethers are used to keep astronauts anchored to the shuttle or Station as they work in space. Scientists and researchers have even introduced a slide wire along which the tether can be moved so that larger distances can be covered while completing tasks. If for some reason the astronaut were to become untethered, each suit is also equipped with a jet-pack "life jacket" called a SAFER to allow the astronaut to reorient himself in an upright position facing the space craft and to fly back to the Station.

Geoff Nisbet, Linh Lu Curtis Reid – Steinhauer School, AB

Not only was Chris the first Canadian spacewalker, he was also the lead spacewalker during Mission-STS-100! In this role, he helped to install Canadarm2, the next generation robot arm, on the International Space Station. The first spacewalk was used to unload and test Canadarm2. Chris had to stand on the end of the shuttle's Canadarm with American astronaut Scott Parazynski, in order to deploy Canadarm2.

During the second spacewalk, Chris and Scott rewired the base of Canadarm2 so it could be used to transfer equipment. Chris had the opportunity to test out the arm by running it through a series of manoeuvres. Once those checks were completed, crewmember Susan Helms operated Canadarm2 and Chris operated the shuttle arm. Canadarm2 was commanded to hand its pallet back to the shuttle arm –a memorable moment in Canadian history when the two robots conducted the "first Canadian Robotic handshake in space."

Melva Badger – Steinhauer School, AB

Chris Hadfield answers — it's an amazing experience to float weightless around the world over and over again. To have the sensation of holding on to the side of the Space Station with one hand and put your face into the wind as it were, and watch the world roll by under your feet is just spectacular. To be doing it while you're working outside to build something that is vital to the future of this whole project, to give it that type of intrinsic purpose, makes it just an overwhelming experience. It's spectacular and I was really honoured to have a chance to do it.