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In the picture it shows two different suits. Why did NASA color one orange just like they did with the space shuttle astronaut suits?

enter image description here

The Rocket fan
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Same reason the shuttle ACES suit was orange. Both were to be worn during launch and reentry, when contingencies are possible that would put a crew member in the ocean. The color aids visibility for recovery.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/orion-suit-equipped-to-expect-the-unexpected-on-artemis-missions

The outer cover layer, which is orange to make crew members easily visible in the ocean should they ever need to exit Orion without the assistance of recovery personnel, includes shoulder enhancements for better reach and is fire resistant.

BowlOfRed
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    Evidently none of the people that picked that color have ever tried to find anything in the ocean. I live on a boat and orange is just not that "visible". You want to be found, you need fluorescent yellow. Visible from a long distance even toward sundown. Maybe they justified the different color based on visibility, but my guess is someone had a preference and pushed for it using this argument. Notice also the lack of reflective tape on this suit. Compare that with ocean voyage life jackets. My vote is for a designer that didn't know what he was doing making a compelling argument. – boatcoder Nov 16 '22 at 16:25
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    @boatcoder there's probably a difference between the optimal colour for something you try to find by boat and something you try to find by plane/helicopter. – leftaroundabout Nov 16 '22 at 16:29
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    @boatcoder So you're claiming that the US Coast Guard, among others, has painted all their helicopters and response boats the wrong color, and that SOLAS has internationally required all lifeboats to be the wrong color? Because all of those are the same orange. – user71659 Nov 16 '22 at 17:14
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    @boatcoder I'm fairly sure that this will have been actually tested and that your anecdote doesn't counteract actual evidence – ScottishTapWater Nov 16 '22 at 17:52
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    @user71659 it's not unknown for studies to reach a non-optimal solution. Once a standard is established it's extremely rare for them to be questioned. Trying to buck a standard is a career-limiting move, and extra work besides. – Mark Ransom Nov 16 '22 at 21:07
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    @boatcoder It’s possible that they were accounting for more than just the possibility of water rescue. Orange (albeit usually brighter than the depicted suits) is the go-to color for most land environments (other than deserts, where a strong blue is generally better, and deciduous forests, where you have to pick something based on the season). Also, orange in the ocean is still pretty noticeable from the air when looking down at a reasonable angle towards the ocean. The lack of reflective surfaces though is baffling though. – Austin Hemmelgarn Nov 17 '22 at 02:47
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    The inflatable part of the suit has reflectors (photo in link). The suits also have location beacons and water activated strobes. Orange was likely a consideration for land-based retrieval. Also sunlight can come through the cabin windows, so you don't want to blind the crew with reflectors during launch or reentry. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/engineering/life_support_systems/space_suits/aces/index.html – Agbullet Nov 17 '22 at 17:20
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    @boatcoder, if I'm on a commercial vessel, and I see an orange "something" in the water, I think man overboard or lifeboat and go check it out. If I see yellow, I don't immediately think that. It might not be the best based on science, but familiarity and training matters. You're not going to change many years of tradition and training overnight. – Agbullet Nov 17 '22 at 17:25
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    @boatcoder Orange is strongly preferred for SAR scenarios for the reason that nothing orange is common in nature. Even a single shapeless speck of orange can be firmly expected to be man-made. There are a lot more yellow natural objects. – Therac Nov 17 '22 at 19:09
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    A study to try to determine the most visible fluorescent color between red, green, orange, and yellow. In this study, green was ranked best, followed by orange. Combined with some of the other points regarding orange being a well-known standard and also being far less common in nature than green, etc., suggest fluorescent orange is a viable color for high visibility for rescue purposes. Yellow was ranked worst, even worse than red. I wonder if boatcoder means green instead of yellow. https://www.newwaveswimbuoy.com/blogs/news/brightest-on-water – Todd Wilcox Nov 18 '22 at 06:24
  • I mean yellow like this: https://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/hansen-protection-as/product-23189-562561.html – boatcoder Nov 25 '22 at 12:18
  • I've seen Yellow buoys from a great distance. I've NOT seen Orange buoys from a close distance. As far as I know, there is nothing in nature that is fluorescent yellow. The problem with white Buoys is that they don't stay that way long, and can easily resemble the glare from the water. Orange is dark and most water is dark, either green or blue. Fluorescent yellow (and even just a bright yellow) contrasts well with that in the ocean. All this is from my personal experience. – boatcoder Nov 25 '22 at 12:22