I got to speak with the crew of Polaris Dawn to learn more about their exciting mission including the features of the brand new SpaceX EVA suit and all the d...
Pretty much all modern EVA suits (like the ones used by US, China, Russia) run a pure oxygen at about .20 ATM so that the internal pressure is lower but the amount of oxygen the astronaut is breathing is the same density of oxygen as at 1 ATM. This allows much better maneuverability in the space suit, because any air mixture at 1 ATM makes it nearly immediately to move in a space suit (they become too stiff).
Point is, we have been doing spacewalks like this since spacewalks started and no one has spontaneously combusted on one.
Pretty much all modern EVA suits (like the ones used by US, China, Russia) run a pure oxygen at about .20 ATM so that the internal pressure is lower but the amount of oxygen the astronaut is breathing is the same density of oxygen as at 1 ATM. This allows much better maneuverability in the space suit, because any air mixture at 1 ATM makes it nearly immediately to move in a space suit (they become too stiff).
Point is, we have been doing spacewalks like this since spacewalks started and no one has spontaneously combusted on one.
Ok fair enough. My dilettante knowledge of chemistry let me down.
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, unlike pure oxygen at only a little bit of pressure.