The first all-female spacewalk was delayed due to a shortage of medium-sized spacesuits.
The milestone was pushed back after Anne McClain realized she needed a smaller configuration.
Replacing the necessary piece of the spacesuit could take up to 12 hours. NASA switched the spacewalkers to avoid delaying the mission.
The move put the spotlight on the homogeneity of spacesuits. When most astronauts were larger men, an upgraded version of kit was developed.
Budgetary constraints limited the range of sizes. This makes it harder for female astronauts, who make up only 11 percent of the people who have made it into space.
Microgravity can make you taller, so a good fit on Earth may not be so good in space.
NASA is working on spacesuits for a wider range of body sizes. The agency is looking into a body scanning system that will make custom spacesuits.
Bonnie Dunbar is a professor at Texas A&M University.
The former astronauts wants to use digital scans to analyze his body. For Mars and beyond, the data would be used to create a personalized spacesuit.
The system could quickly produce space suits for each crew member in any environment. It can be used to modify and repair the attire during deep-space travel.
The Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program funds early-stage concepts that could change the future.
17 researchers from nine states in the US will get a total of $5.1 million from the new slate of grants.
Ron Turner, senior science advisor for NIAC, said that they look for things that are different if it is an evolutionary change.
NASA has gone down unconventional paths as a result of that search. The program's other recent picks include a football field-size in space and an inflatable drone that studies conditions on Venus.
Even the concepts that don't make it out of testing can inform future research.
If the spacesuit system works out, it could open up the universe to people of all shapes and sizes, which could be useful for space tourists.
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