Why space suits cost more than a house and what makes them priceless

A full NASA spacesuit can cost up to $12 million, much more than a typical house. This price covers the suit itself as well as the life-support backpack, with seventy per cent of the cost going into safety and control systems.

NASA revealed that the suits made in the 1970s cost between $15-22 million then, which would be about $150 million today after adjusting for inflation. Newer designs, such as the xEMU for Moon missions, are expected to be even more expensive due to extra safety and tech.

Each suit is a one-person spacecraft that keeps astronauts alive. It must supply oxygen, regulate temperature, block harmful space radiation and micrometeoroids, and even have systems for waste removal during long spacewalks.

NASA uses over a dozen layers in a suit. The outer layer uses tough materials like Kevlar and Gore-Tex for protection. Gloves alone require incredibly fine engineering, as they need both movement and durability. Gloves are often the most costly single part.

Inside, a suit packs high-speed data communications, cooling tubes, gold visors, and a computer system to monitor everything in real time. This technology is tailored to every astronaut, making mass production almost impossible and driving costs even higher.

It takes years and hundreds of experts to design, test, and build each suit. Even a tiny flaw could be fatal in space. For this reason, every suit is checked and upgraded constantly, adding to the expense and explaining why there are so few available.

Spacesuits may seem expensive, but for astronauts, they are priceless. Only a handful exist and losing one is a major setback for any space mission.