Νίκο, δια του λόγου το αληθές, παραθέτω απόσπασμα από επίσημα αρχεία:
The spacesuits worn by the Apollo astronauts could withstand the rigors of a lunar mission such as 270-degree temperature swings, but are gradually disintegrating on planet Earth -- and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it.
They were built to protect the fragile bodies of humans in outer space. Temperatures on the moon swing from 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit) by day to minus 150 degrees Celsius (minus 238 degrees Fahrenheit) by night. The spacesuits were even intended to withstand strikes by minuscule meteorites. But time is taking its toll on the suits the Apollo 11 astronauts wore when they set foot on the moon for the first time on July 20, 1969.
"Three factors have caused the suits to deteriorate -- light, humidity and temperature," Cathleen Lewis, curator of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. The humid summers in the US capital are doing more damage than the air vacuum and the drastic temperature swings the suits were exposed to on the moon.
The rubber is corroding, the metal parts are rusting and the plastic parts are disintegrating.
The spacesuits consist of 21 layers of different materials. Closest to the body is a soft overall into which plastic tubes for water circulation were sewed. The next layer is made of nylon with ventilation slits, followed by a multilayered suit made of various synthetic materials for pressurization. The waist, knees and elbows were cushioned with foam rubber. A polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foil combined with other fireproof materials protected the astronauts from the heat. The outer coating is made of white Teflon.
