The milestone was pushed back after astronaut Anne McClain realized she needed a smaller configuration than originally planned.
While the spacesuit had swappable parts, replacing the necessary piece could have taken up to 12 hours.
On McClainsrecommendation, NASA switched the spacewalkers to avoid delaying the mission.
The move was rational, but it put the spotlight on the uniformity of spacesuits.
McClains outfit was an upgraded version of kit developed in the 1970s, when most astronauts were larger men.
The range of sizes remains limited today because of budgetary constraints.
This creates another barrier for female astronauts, who comprise only11% of the peoplewho have made it intospace.
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NASA iscurrently developing spacesuitsfor a wider range of body sizes.
The conceptis the brainchild of Bonnie Dunbar, Professor of Aerospace Engineering Engineering at Texas A&M University.
The former astronaut envisions using digital scans to analyze an astronauts physique.
The data would then be used to robotically produce a personalized spacesuit for Mars and beyond.
Dunbar believes the system could rapidly produce space suits that suit each individual crew member in any gravitational environment.
It also has the potential to manufacture, modify, and repair the attire during deep-space travel.
That search has led NASA down unconventional paths.
The programs other recent picks include a football field-sizestarshade in spaceandaninflatable drone that studies conditions on Venus.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
