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The sign accompanying the suit. It reads

Mercury Spacesuit

Last Line of Defense

The Mercury capsule's snug cabin protected the astronaut from the rigors of spaceflight and the harsh space environment. If, however, the capsule malfunctioned - for example, if its oxygen leaked into space - the Mercury astronaut could fall back on his last line of defense, his silver spacesuit.

The Mercury spacesuit was continuously improved between July 1959, when NASA awarded the B.F. Goodrich Company the contract to make Mercury suits, and May 1963, when Project Mercury ended. Displayed here is the suit worn by astronaut Wally Schirra during training for his MA-8 mission. It resembles the suits worn by Alan Shepard during Mercury-Redstone 3 (May 5, 1961) and Gus Grissom during Mercury-Redstone 4 (July 21, 1961).