The Real Reason Why NASA Uses Bright Orange Suits for Launch and Landing

It might feel like astronauts have always worn bright orange suits, but that is not the full story. Early NASA crews wore different colors depending on the mission and the era.

Astronauts are crew members who are launched aboard a spacecraft headed for orbit or beyond. These professionals train to fly missions, run experiments, operate complex systems, and perform spacewalks. When they are on Earth, they test procedures, support mission control, and help scientists prepare for space-based research.

But folks can’t seem to get over the bright orange getups. The reason why astronauts wear orange makes sense, considering how dangerous their missions are.

Astronauts wear orange during high-risk phases like launch and reentry because the color makes them easier to spot in an emergency, especially in open water. NASA designs these suits for survival, not comfort or aesthetics.

The Orion Crew Survival System suit protects astronauts during the most dangerous moments of a mission. It can help keep them alive if the cabin loses pressure. It also includes survival gear in case they must exit the capsule after splashdown and wait for rescue teams.

NASA engineer Chris Hansen gave more context on the bright-colored suits during an appearance on Houston We Have a Podcast.

“The reason it’s bright orange is because the Orion is a water landing vehicle. So there’s a possibility the crew may need to get out of that vehicle and be in the water,” NASA engineer Chris said. “It’s got a life preserver. But we also want to make it easier for search and rescue crews to find the astronauts. So the bright orange color makes that easier. So it’s all really about crew safety and protecting the crew in all of these contingency events they might see in the spacecraft.”

NASA changes suit colors based on function, not tradition. Mercury-era astronauts wore silver suits. Apollo crews wore white suits for launch, reentry, and moonwalks. Early space shuttle crews wore blue before NASA switched to orange for better visibility during emergencies.

Even today, astronauts do not all wear the same color. It depends on what they are doing and what spacecraft they are flying in. NASA’s white spacewalking suits are a good example. The agency says the white outer layer reflects heat from sunlight, which helps astronauts during EVAs, or spacewalks.

White EVA suits are for working outside in space. Commercial crew systems use other colors, too, including white SpaceX suits and blue Boeing Starliner suits.

NASA is currently in the middle of a major operation with its Artemis program, specifically the Artemis II mission. On April 1, the agency will launch a four-person crew on a roughly 10-day trip around the Moon. The crew includes astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Their mission is not to land on the Moon yet, but to test systems on the Orion spacecraft.