Aside from the bulky spacesuit (called a PGA, or Pressure Garment Assembly), an Apollo astronaut's wardrobe consisted of:
1. ICG: Inflight Coverall Garment
2. CWG: Constant Wear Garment (long johns)
3. BIG: Biological-Isolation Garment
Inflight Coverall Garment
This was a three-piece flight suit consisting of a jacket, trousers, and a pair of boots.
This was worn over the CWG whenever the astronauts were in a "shirtsleeve" environment (not wearing the pressure suit).
The first garments designed for Apollo flight were constructed of 4190B Beta cloth. But, to make them more durable, designers changed the material to Teflon-coated Beta cloth.
Astronauts reported discomfort caused by skin irritation, so designers added a Nomex lining to the jackets.
When the problem of skin irritation persisted, the material was again changed to woven Teflon fabric.
1. ICG: Inflight Coverall Garment
2. CWG: Constant Wear Garment (long johns)
3. BIG: Biological-Isolation Garment
Inflight Coverall Garment
This was a three-piece flight suit consisting of a jacket, trousers, and a pair of boots.
This was worn over the CWG whenever the astronauts were in a "shirtsleeve" environment (not wearing the pressure suit).
The first garments designed for Apollo flight were constructed of 4190B Beta cloth. But, to make them more durable, designers changed the material to Teflon-coated Beta cloth.
Astronauts reported discomfort caused by skin irritation, so designers added a Nomex lining to the jackets.
When the problem of skin irritation persisted, the material was again changed to woven Teflon fabric.
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| Apollo 12 astronauts (left to right) Conrad, Gordon, and Bean wearing ICG while preparing for water egress training aboard the MV Retriever. Credit: NASA |
Constant-Wear Garment
The CWG was a one-piece cotton-knit garment that covered the torso and feet, but left the lower arms bare.
It was designed to be worn next to the skin to provide warmth and absorb sweat.
Each astronaut had two of these garments.
The CWG was a one-piece cotton-knit garment that covered the torso and feet, but left the lower arms bare.
It was designed to be worn next to the skin to provide warmth and absorb sweat.
Each astronaut had two of these garments.
 |
| Apollo training illustration of in-flight clothing items. Credit: NASA |
Biological Isolation Garment
This was not worn in flight. It was designed to prevent astronauts from bringing moon germs (if any existed) back to contaminate Earth.
The BIG was a one-piece garment that included shoes, gloves, and hood.
Astronauts wore the isolation garments from splashdown to the recovery van.
It was made from a lightweight, high-density cotton fabric and required no special cooling equipment. Filters to screen out particles were provided in the BIG mask design.
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| Apollo 11 astronauts await the recovery helicopter with the decontamination officer, all wearing BIGs. Credit: NASA |
Source: NASA Technical Note TN D-6737, March 1972,
