NASA has unveiled its new space suit. Its logo is a subtle tribute to some of the greatest figures in the history of space exploration while looking to the future.
Humanity has long viewed from afar the stars and planets that for centuries seemed out of reach. Technological advances have made it possible to realize this dream of leaving Earth to explore a universe that is constantly revealing new secrets to us. But in addition to technology, it is above all women and men who have played a prominent role in the history of space exploration.
The Artemis program, a new chapter in this story, does not fail to remind us. The suit for the Artemis III mission, which will send humans to the moon for the first time in 50 years, even wanted its logo to pay tribute to certain people without whom we might not be talking about this mission.
Edward White, pioneer astronaut
The blue star seen to the left of the logo is a tribute to Ed White (full name Edward White). While this name doesn’t seem as well known as that of Neil Armstrong or Yuri Gagarin, it’s still that of the first American to perform an extra-vehicle exit to space. It was part of the Gemini 4 mission that took place on June 3, 1965.
Together with the pilot James McDivitt, Ed White took off on board the Gemini 4 capsule that day. The aim: to investigate the limits of manned spaceflight and to achieve a first spacewalk, which NASA had never managed to do at the time.
After three orbits, a few hours after the launch of the Gemini 4 capsule, Edward White finally flies into space. When connected to the vessel by a tube that supplies it with oxygen, it moves up to seven meters away from it to float in full space in absolute vacuum for more than 20 minutes. An experience so exciting for Edward White that he obviously wanted to extend it. When he has to return to the ship, he even declares that this is “the saddest moment” of his life.
He also loses one of his thermal gloves when entering his pod. A useless anecdote? Not really, since it is, after all, the first ever human waste to be released into space.
After this successful voyage, NASA launched the Apollo project, which aims to bring humans to the moon for the first time. Ed White is part of the project and integrates the Apollo 1 mission. However, he will not have the opportunity to enter the only natural satellite on Earth. And with good reason, he died in a fire on January 29, 1967 while training in the space module at the Cape Canaveral base in Florida.
This disaster will challenge the use of combustible materials used during the early Apollo missions. Despite this sad ending, his name remains indispensable in NASA history. During the Apollo 15 mission (1971), the astronauts placed Fallen Astronaut, a memorial on which Edward White’s name was engraved, on the moon.
Images of the historic spacewalk were also captured on board the two Voyager probes, which have been roaming the universe for nearly 45 years.
Alexei Leonov, the real first
For the red star, you need to look on the side of the USSR, and more precisely, astronaut Alexei Leonov. On March 18, 1965, the Voskhod spacecraft was launched with Alexei Leonov on board. On that day, he becomes the very first human to make an extra vehicle exit into space, ahead of Edward White by several months.
If this exploit allows the Soviets to show their (short) advantage over the Americans, it also reveals some imperfections. The suit was not quite suitable for this world premiere.
When the event was televised live, Alexei Leonov’s suit stretched and swelled in space, “like the Bibendum of Michelin advertising,” Leonov later joked. This unforeseen event prevents him from returning to the Vokshod, which leads to the interruption of the live broadcast. On Earth, many even believe that he is dead.
And it could have been if Alexei Leonov hadn’t activated a valve to release the pressure in his equipment and managed to force his way back to the capsule. The rest of the adventure is just as complicated, as the Vokshod, in which he is joined by Pavel Beliayev, ends up in a forest in the Urals, 2,000 km from the landing site originally planned in Kazakhstan. A new unexpected for Alexei Leonov, who was forced to wait three days to be found and brought back.
But despite these setbacks, Alexei Leonov will have managed to advance the USSR in its space technology. The contrasting experience of the Voskshod will lead the Soviets to abandon this program and launch another that will mark history even more: the Soyuz.
For his part, in 1975 Alexei Leonov again found himself connected to a major space project. He was given Soviet command of the first joint Apollo-Soyuz mission, which brought the USSR and the United States together. The exclamation mark of a rich life for this great name in space history who died on October 11, 2019 at the age of 85.
Look to the future
While paying homage to the past, the AxEmu logo also seems to be looking to the future. The orange wire appears to connect the moon to a coveted red planet, which is none other than Mars. Currently, space authorities are attempting to determine the present or past existence of life on the red planet. NASA has already sent the Perseverance rover to collect data and is already preparing the site where the Martian soil samples will be examined when they return to Earth around the year 2033.
The questions surrounding this data are of the greatest importance for the future. If this data confirms that humans can live on Mars, the planet should be the next step in space conquest.
For NASA, the Artemis program is even a launch pad to Mars, although this is logistically questionable. When the limitations of a journey to Mars are one day overcome, the AxEMU will play its part and adapt as well, perhaps to accompany the first humans to set foot on Mars. After all, according to Axiom, this suit is “designed to last for generations.”
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