The environment suits depicted in the movie 2001 Space Odyssey have evolved and strengthened in detail according to the scientific knowledge of the 1960's. They also project certain speculations about the advance of spacesuit technology into the 21 st century. The environment suit is now a complex mechanism and architecture for survival in the severe conditions of the vacuum of space.

            The 2001 spacesuit is a streamlined version of the contemporary environment suit employed by NASA, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit or EMU, which is a hybrid type spacesuit consisting of a hard shell torso and fabric limbs. This suit acts in a similar fashion to a balloon creating a pressurized environment around the astronaut. These suits are quite bulky as there must be a constant volume of air in the spacesuit as well as layers between the astronaut and the bladder layer or exterior of the suit. 2001 implies that technologies have progressed to allow for a greater refinement of suit technology and materials so that it is slimmer and allows for greater mobility. The 2001 spacesuit also consists of hard helmets in a similar fashion to the EMU, however it has been streamlined and stylized with angular details. The helmet is mechanically connected to the spacesuit so that air may flow between the two, maintaining a continuous pressure around the entire body of the astronaut. The life support systems employed in the movie spacesuits are similar to those attached to the EMU. Both are rectangular backpack style units that attach to the spacesuit, however the EMU version is permanently attached to the hard shell torso of the suit, whereas the 2001 version is detachable, evident of further refinement. 2001 pays particular attention to the requirement for a complete air seal for the environment suit in the use of mechanical connections between the helmet and suit, glove to suit and boot to suit. However the 2001 suit fails to refine the placement of the airline, which connects the life-support backpack to the suit, in fact the movie purposefully leaves the air line loose and therefore vulnerable.   This is a particularly important detail as the film's goal is to emphasize the fragility and isolation of the astronaut in space, completely dependant upon an artificial environment that may be destroyed by the quick cutting of a single air line. This is also demonstrated in the soundtrack of the film. In any of the spacewalk sequences the only audible sound is the breathing of the astronauts. Therefore when a character's air line is cut, there is a deafening silence.