NASA unveiled its new spacesuit set to be worn by Artemis III astronauts to the moon – and it’s designed specifically for the first woman to walk on the lunar surface.
The agency worked with aerospace company Axiom to develop the new gear with improved mobility compared to the bulky Apollo suits that caused astronauts to fall while walking on the lunar surface.
Astronauts can walk in the new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit rather than hop like their predecessors, allowing them to bend down and pick things up overhead.
The innovative Mylar and Kevlar gear features a new “helmet bladder”, boots made specifically for lunar walks, and a wearable life support system that’s “like a fancy scuba tank and air conditioner combo.”
A navy blue design was staged at the event to hide proprietary components, but Axiom said the outer layer will be white when astronauts first don them in 2025.
NASA unveiled its new space suit to be worn by Artemis III astronauts to the moon. A prototype took the stage at Wednesday’s event, but the finished product will be ready this summer
Mike Suffredini, President and CEO, said in a statement, “We are continuing NASA’s legacy by designing an advanced space suit that will enable astronauts to operate safely and effectively on the moon.
“Axiom Space’s Artemis III spacesuit will be ready to meet the complex challenges of the lunar south pole and expand our understanding of the Moon to enable a long-term presence there.”
The AxEMU spacesuit, unveiled at Space Center Houston’s Moon 2 Mars Festival, is a prototype with an entire fleet of training spacesuits due to be delivered to NASA by the end of this summer.
“The space suit will equip astronauts with advanced capabilities for space exploration while providing NASA with commercially developed human systems needed to access, live and work on and around the Moon,” Axiom said in the announcement.
“The advanced space suit ensures astronauts are equipped with powerful, robust gear and is designed to accommodate a wide variety of crew members.”
For Wednesday’s unveiling, the prototype was adorned with Axiom’s logo and featured the company’s branding colors of blue, black, and orange.
A hatch in the back allows astronauts to climb into the suit, and the helmet is a large piece that covers the upper torso area.
According to Axiom and NASA, the next step is to test the new suit at Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston.
The agency worked with aerospace company Axiom to develop the new gear with improved mobility compared to the bulky Apollo suits that caused astronauts to fall while walking on the lunar surface
A hatch in the back allows astronauts to climb into the suit, and the helmet is a large piece that covers the upper torso area
According to Axiom and NASA, the next step is to test the new suit at Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston
There, a 40-foot-deep pool was transformed into a lunar landscape.
Lara Kearney, who is overseeing the program at NASA and making sure Axiom meets requirements, said, “It’s going to give us a really good indication of how mobile the suit is and what kind of fatigue, if any, the crew members are going to experience.” after six or seven hours of work.’
Axiom has also used modern technology to construct the suit, using laser cutters to cut fabric and 3D printers to build specific components.
And although the suit is the most fashionable, it was designed to survive.
Russell Ralston, associate EVA program manager at Axiom Space, said, “I go to church with astronauts. We see them when we buy groceries. We know their children.”
According to Peggy Whitson (right), director of human spaceflight at Axiom and a former NASA astronaut who has spent more time in space than any other American, the spacesuit is the first designed specifically for women
The helmet is designed like a bubble but attached to the fabric that covers the entire torso of the body
The suit also comes with a pair of gloves that allow for finger movement
“The product you make, your life will depend on it. So we take that very seriously.”
NASA is currently working on the launch of its Artemis II mission, which will take astronauts to and around the moon in 2024.
Three Americans and one Canadian will be revealed April 3 as they prepare to become the first humans to travel to our lunar satellite since 1972.
The crew – due to launch into space in 18 months – will have already begun training for the mission, but their identities remained top secret prior to NASA’s announcement.
Artemis III is the final phase of the lunar program in which the first woman and person of color will walk the lunar surface. Only 12 people – all white – have walked the moon.
The last to leave footprints on the surface was Eugene Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 mission, who wore a thick white suit that made walking difficult.
In the first part of the Artemis program, an unmanned capsule returned to Earth after a more than 25-day mission testing Orion’s technologies to ensure the safety of the astronauts
The last to leave his footprints on the surface was Eugene Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 mission, who donned a bulky white suit that made walking difficult (pictured).
It’s part of an ambitious program that aims to return humans to the moon for the first time since the historic Apollo missions ended in 1972.
NASA hopes to establish a permanent human presence on the lunar surface and later launch a year-long journey to Mars.
In the first part of the Artemis program, an unmanned capsule returned to Earth after a more than 25-day mission testing Orion’s technologies to ensure the safety of the astronauts.
Artemis I launched on November 16, 2022, signaling the first phase of the US space agency’s goal to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century.
However, the program has been plagued by numerous delays that have pushed back data on its first launch since August.
Enduring problems with fuel leaks and engine problems, the $4 billion Space Launch System escaped the clutches of not one, but two hurricanes.
NASA will land the first woman and first black person on the moon as part of the Artemis mission in 2025
Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and moon goddess in Greek mythology.
NASA chose her to embody their path back to the moon, which will see astronauts return to the lunar surface by 2025 – including the first woman and the next man.
Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Artemis 1 will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Artemis 1 will be an unmanned flight that will provide a basis for human exploration of space and demonstrate our commitment and ability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.
During this flight, the spacecraft will launch the world’s most powerful rocket and fly further than any human-made spacecraft has ever flown.
It will travel 280,000 miles (450,600 km) from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the moon, over the course of a roughly three-week mission.
Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars. This graphic explains the different phases of the mission
Orion will stay in space longer than any astronaut spacecraft without docking with a space station, and return home faster and hotter than ever.
With this first reconnaissance mission, NASA is taking the next steps in human exploration into space, where astronauts will build and begin testing near-lunar systems necessary for missions to the lunar surface and exploration of other, more distant targets, including of Mars, are needed.
This will put the crew on a different trajectory and test Orion’s critical systems with humans on board.
Together, Orion, SLS and Kennedy’s ground systems will be able to meet the most demanding requirements for crew and cargo missions in space.
Finally, as a result of the Artemis mission, NASA wants to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon by 2028.
The space agency hopes this colony will uncover new scientific discoveries, demonstrate new technological advances, and lay the groundwork for private companies to build a lunar economy.