Prototype spacesuit for future Nasa moon mission unveiled
- Astronauts will have sleeker, more flexible spacesuits when they step onto the lunar surface
- Nasa is targeting late 2025 at the earliest to land two astronauts on the moon’s south pole
Nasa and the private aerospace company Axiom Space unveiled a prototype of the next-generation spacesuit that astronauts will wear on the next walk on the moon.
The suit revealed at an event on Wednesday at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston features greater flexibility and thermal protection than those worn by the Apollo astronauts who first stepped foot on the lunar surface more than 50 years ago.
The pressurised garment has multiple protective layers, a backpack with life support systems, and lights and a high-definition video camera mounted on top of the bubble-shaped helmet.
The US space agency’s Artemis programme aims to return humans to the moon in late 2025 for the first time since the historic Apollo missions ended in 1972, an initial step towards an eventual voyage to Mars.
Axiom Space was awarded a US$228.5 million contract to design the suit – the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit in space jargon – for the mission known as Artemis III.
Axiom Space chief engineer Jim Stein appeared on stage at the Nasa facility wearing the suit, waving his arms, performing squats and dropping to one knee to display the range of motion it provides.