A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even when breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pressure or partial-pressure. Partial-pressure suits work by providing mechanical counter-pressure to assist breathing at altitude.
A U-2 pilot suit
An indirect-compression pressure suit without the exterior ballistic covering, showing the many complex fabric folds, internal fold support rings, and flexible stacked cable hinge assemblies of constant-volume flexible joints.
Showing the functional components of a direct-compression capstan anti-G pressure suit: A - inflation hose connection to external air supply, B - flexible elastic tube contained inside an inelastic fabric tunnel along the length of a limb, C - alternating fabric bands to compress suit when capstan inflates, D - laced folds for customizing the fit of the fabric suit to tightly match the wearer's anatomy.
Italian aviator Mario Pezzi in his high-altitude pressure suit, circa 1937
A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extravehicular activity (EVA), work done outside spacecraft. Space suits have been worn for such work in Earth orbit, on the surface of the Moon, and en route back to Earth from the Moon. Modern space suits augment the basic pressure garment with a complex system of equipment and environmental systems designed to keep the wearer comfortable, and to minimize the effort required to bend the limbs, resisting a soft pressure garment's natural tendency to stiffen against the vacuum. A self-contained oxygen supply and environmental control system is frequently employed to allow complete freedom of movement, independent of the spacecraft.
Apollo spacesuit worn by astronaut Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11
Orlan space suit worn by astronaut Michael Fincke outside the International Space Station
Feitian space suit being displayed at the National Museum of China
Space suits being used to work on the International Space Station.