How could a Apollo moonwalkers suit adapt so quick from heating to cooling as?

Question

the astronaut went from being in sunlight to shadow?

Answer 1

Massive Insulation and isolation from space.

The idea is to keep the astronaut's environment contained and to separate him from the outside.

The suit works hard to keep the man or woman inside cool, because just moving around in it is difficult. They wear underwear that wicks away their sweat and the suit has its own circulation system with water pipes to transfer and dump the waste heat. The suit keeps a slight air pressure around the body, but only the helmet holds a breathable air supply.

Working on the space station the astronauts rotate around the planet once every 30 minutes and you are right the difference between being in the sunlight and in the shade is hundreds of degrees. It is hard to anticipate what the temperature will be, so it is best if the designers just isolate the astronaut from space and then keep them cool.

All space suits being currently used are soft suits, which are easier to move in and a little cheaper to make. Hard suits, like those used underwater at over 500’ depths, have long been considered since they would be safer against wear and tear or micro-meteor damage. But, so far NASA hasn’t found a version that works well enough. The tear on an astronaut’s glove on this last space walk was minor, hardly uncommon and only penetrated one layer, but it shows that each walk has a large element of risk and they have to be careful just stepping outside. That is why NASA may not repair the shuttle tile damage. The risk of a spacewalk and the chance of increasing the damage by hitting the underside of the shuttle is so great that it might be unwise.

is correct about the thermostat, but the idea is to control the temperature of the astronaut's body and keep out the heat or cold of space.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_suit#Theories_of_spacesuit_design
"Heat can only be lost in space by thermal radiation or conduction with objects in physical contact with the space suit. Since heat is lost very slowly by radiation, temperature is regulated by a Liquid Cooling Garment and heavy insulation on the hands and possibly feet."

Remember that vacuum makes some of the best insulation. So the hands and feet are heavily insulated to prevent conduction and the suit radiates the excess heat.

Answer 2

First, there is only heat energy in varying amounts. Lots of energy and it's hot, very little energy and the term "cold" is used. What people are almost hitting on is that it all comes down to transfer of heat energy. When an object goes from being in the sun, receiving a lot of heat energy, to being in the shade, giving up heat energy, most materials don't evaporate and just disappear. They are durable enough to handle this change. So, make the outside of the suit something that can withstand the extreme changes of heat transfer. Not too tough. Now, inhibit that transfer from affecting the astronaut inside. There are lots and lots of materials which don't conduct heat energy..i.e. insulators. Put a good, meaning high R factor, flexible insulator between the outer surface material and the inner material and it's taken care of. Well, as far as heating goes, that whole micro-meteorite thing is an entirely different problem to deal with.
The suit doesn't have to adapt anymore than the roof of someone's house who lives in the desert does. Extremely hot in the day to extremely "cold", even below freezing, at night. The roof is still there in the morning. But, between the roof and the interior of the house are various layers of insulation materials. Plus, a spacesuit is white, so that also helps it to absorb less energy, too.

Answer 3

Even in conditions where extreme heat changes to extreme cold immediately, it still takes time for the change to occur inside a spacesuit. Apollo space suits, and those used today also, have sensors distributed across the outer surface of the suit. As soon as a sensor(s) detect a change in exterior conditions, the thermostatic controls of the suit react accordingly. Before the full magnitude of the exterior change from hot to cold or cold to hot can penetrate deeply enough into the suit to harm the astronaut, the suit has made the necessary compensation.

Answer 4

Wild right? It seems impossible, but if you think about it, they face the same situation in orbit, when they go from being in the earths shadow to being in between the earth and sun several times a day.

It's just a matter of completely bada*s insulating materials, and automated climate control life support systems... I think it must be even harder to stabalize the environment in the space craft itself! More air and materials to heat and cool rapidly.