History Main / SpaceSuitsAreSCUBAGear

* An inversion in ''Film/Aquaman2018'' where Atlantian commandoes wear PoweredArmor that holds the water ''in'' as they can't breathe air on the surface. Mera is able to defeat Man-O-War by breaking the seal on his suit, causing all the water to drain out; he survives by shoving his head in a [[{{Swirlie}} nearby toilet.]]

* Used in ''Film/Armageddon1998'' so that [[spoiler:Bruce Willis can subvert his future son-in-law's HeroicSacrifice by yanking his air line and taking his place.]]

* ''Film/ConquestOfSpace'' (1955). Combined with the Michelin Man-looking spacesuits to produce {{Narm}} when the astronauts are floating about in zero-G.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In the final episode of ''Series/{{Quark}}'', the ship's computer goes insane and tries to kill Quark by shutting the airlock hatch on his air hose when he's going out for a spacewalk. Fortunately his spacesuit has an emergency supply, giving him enough time to get back on board.
* In ''Series/TheExpanse'' the pressure-suits worn by the crew of ''Rocinante'' feature helmets connected to a "breather" backpack by a corrugated rubber hose. When one character is AlmostOutOfOxygen, the medic provides a temporary fix by splicing their hoses together.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "Dawn of the Gods", Vila's air hose breaks off while he's exploring the EldritchLocation that the Liberator has ended up in. After a CommercialBreakCliffhanger Tarrant goes out to look for Vila, but finds he's still alive because the place has a breathable atmosphere.
* ''Series/TheGoodies''. RuleOfFunny version in "Invasion of the Moon Creatures". Bill has his oxygen cylinder turned up too high, his FishbowlHelmet inflates like a balloon and he goes flying off the Moon's surface.
* Another comedy version in ''Series/ComeBackMrsNoah''. The spacesuits consist of a mask with corrugated breathing tube, and a bicycle helmet [[TheHilarityOfHats topped by a couple of plastic tubes with ping pong balls that move up and down to show you're breathing correctly]]. Averted in the TitleSequence where the characters are dancing to the theme tune in "Michelin Man" type suits.

* The ClockPunk spacesuits in ''Literature/TheLastHero''. Possibly {{justified|Trope}} since Leonard's notes reveal that they ''are'' using repurposed diving helmets.
* Lampshaded in the Literature/CaptainFuture homage novel ''Avengers of the Moon'', by Creator/AllenSteele. Captain Future has to stop a man in a spacesuit from sabotaging his rocketship, and notes that attempting to disconnect the air hose is a standard tactic in hand-to-hand space combat (though he doesn't get the chance).
* ''The Bio of a Space Tyrant'' series by Creator/PiersAnthony. In "Mercenary", Hope Hubris is commanding a naval BoardingParty and uses a metal needle to puncture the oxygen tube of a SpacePirate.
-->Now he was in trouble, for I had holed his tube between the tank and the regulatory valve. Oxygen hissed into his suit under unrestrained pressure, bypassing the valve. The outer puncture sealed itself, but not the tube; he was inflating uncomfortably. He had no recourse but to remove his helmet to relieve that pressure, and then I caught his head and jammed my armored finger at a [[PressurePoint buried nerve complex under the ear]], and he was unconscious.
* In a story in the picture book "The Best Train Set Ever", a diving helmet and air hoses are used as part of a space suit. Justified in that the space suit is a Hallowe'en costume.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' the Elemental PoweredArmor was based of a scuba suit developed by Clan Goliath Scorpion, Clan Hell's Horses later redesigned the suit for combat. The elemental armor is capable of fighting in outer space making it useful for boarding enemy ships, and can withstand battlemech grade weapons. It cannot, however, actually function as scuba gear in the game: battle armor is perfectly capable of keeping someone alive underwater as long as the life support system functions and it doesn't get so deep that water pressure risks crushing it, but it's too bulky and difficult to move in to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time unless it mounts specialized underwater maneuvering equipment.

* In the old Lucasfilm adventure game ''VideoGame/ZakMcKrackenAndTheAlienMindbenders'' the lead character builds a spacesuit out of SCUBA gear (the helmet is a fish bowl sealed with tape). Obviously, not the most serious of games.
* In the video game adaptation of ''VideoGame/RogueTrooper'', some of Rogue's melee animations involve ripping these tubes out of Nort environment suits, exposing them to the toxic air of [[DeathWorld Nu Earth]].

* The ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' series is usually fairly good about this, with the RIG suits free of external hoses and tanks. Two notable exceptions are the [[http://deadspace.wikia.com/wiki/Vintage_Suit Vintage Suit]] and the [[http://deadspace.wikia.com/wiki/EVA_Suit EVA suit.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots''. In "The Very Pulse of the Machine", a female astronaut finds her air tank has been pierced, so she uses an air hose to attach herself to the air tank of her deceased colleague. Unfortunately that means she has to drag the corpse with her, which slows her down and saps her strength.

Sci-fi space suits tend to have exposed tubes leading from the air tank to the helmet, like [[SpaceIsAnOcean twin-hose SCUBA gear]]. Since space suits are fully pressurized, not just the helmet, these [[FridgeLogic serve no purpose]] but to be [[AreTheseWiresImportant yanked out]] either to provide a moment of tension or an easy way to end a hand-to-hand fight, depending on if the luckless wearer is a hero or a villain. Even if reconnected, this may lead to an oxygen crisis.

* Used in ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'' so that [[spoiler:Bruce Willis can subvert his future son-in-law's HeroicSacrifice by yanking his air line and taking his place.]]

* The Franchise/DeadSpace series is usually fairly good about this with the RIG suits free of external hoses and tanks, with two notable exceptions, the [[http://deadspace.wikia.com/wiki/Vintage_Suit Vintage Suit]] and the [[http://deadspace.wikia.com/wiki/EVA_Suit EVA suit]]

* In a story in the picture book "The Best Train Set Ever", a diving helmet is used as part of a space suit. Justified in that it is being used in a Hallowe'en costume.

* NASA's [[http://dx12.jsc.nasa.gov/site/index.shtml Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory]] (NBL) at Johnson Space Center. Because space suits are conveniently airtight and pressurized, they actually do work underwater just as they do in space, and because of that, NASA actually trains astronauts by using a 40' deep pool within which the suits will feel weightless and movement will be similar to that in space (albeit with much much more drag).

[[caption-width-right:208:Have SCUBA gear--will travel]]

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_counterpressure_suit Mechanical counterpressure suits]] require this; since the body of the suit is not pressurized, the helmet has to be connected directly to the life support pack.

!!Examples

* ''[[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/19174 The Man Who Rocked the Earth]]'' and its sequel ''The Moon-Maker'' may be the TropeMaker. The original illustrations included combined shots with the fake Moon landscape and real scuba gear, which was the closest thing available. After all this was one of first [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness relatively "hard" Sci Fi]], made in 1915/1916 -- they had no TimeTravel and all that.

* Another comedy version in ''Series/ComeBackMrsNoah'', where as well as the corrugated breathing mask they have a couple of plastic tubes on their helmets, with ping pong balls that move up and down to show you're breathing. Averted in the TitleSequence where the characters are dancing to the theme tune in "Michelin Man" type suits.

* ''Series/Ultraseven'': This is how Kurata exposes Shirihama as a disguised Alien Zampa; when he breaks the breathing tube of the latter's spacesuit, the man is still alive.

* ''Conquest of Space'' (1955). Combined with the Michelin Man-looking spacesuits to produce {{Narm}} when the astronauts are floating about in zero-G.

* NASA's [[http://dx12.jsc.nasa.gov/site/index.shtml Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory]] (NBL) at Johnson Space Center. Because space suits are conveniently airtight and pressurized, they actually do work underwater just as they do in space, and because of that, NASA actually trains astronauts by using a 40' deep pool within which the suits will feel weightless and movement will be similar to that in space (albiet with much much more drag).

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' has the classic air tank and hose.

->''The space armor was awkward and bulky, a model which had been obsolete long before Hardesty left Earth, and its metal was patched and battered. There was no air-tank. A thick-leafed vine coiled around the square old-fashioned helmet, across the shoulders and down the back, like ivy on an ancient university building.''
-->-- ''Garden in the Void'' by Creator/PoulAnderson

* The ClockPunk spacesuits in ''Discworld/TheLastHero''. Possibly {{justified|Trope}} since Leonard's notes reveal that they ''are'' using repurposed diving helmets.

* In ''Series/TheExpanse'' the pressure-suits worn by the crew of ''Rocinante'' feature helmets connected to a "breather" backpack by a corrugated rubber hose.