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NASA plans a next lunar expedition with a better spacesuit – form-fitting and comfortable for men and women. NASA on Wednesday revealed its first prototype, “Axiom Space’s Artemis III Spacesuit.”
Axiom space has contracted with NASA to build a specialized spacesuit for the Artemis mission, following up the Apollo moon program. NASA is hoping that this novel design will be able to support Artemis mission III to the moon in 2025.
Moreover, NASA has planned humanity’s return trip to the moon after five decades. But it has not redesigned the spacesuit since 1981. That’s why it has collaborated with a Texas-based company and invested $228 million to re-design the spacesuit.
Possibly, most of you don’t know how far is the moon. But astronauts have to travel this vast distance, and what keeps them moving is their novel spacesuits.
Why a New Spacesuit?
Possibly, everyone’s thinking about why NASA has invested this huge amount in creating a special spacesuit – better suited for both men and women. First and foremost, the moon is a hostile region, and planning to explore its southern part is challenging. That’s why NASA wants a competent spacesuit, so this $1 billion mission doesn’t fail.
Besides this, NASA aims to send an entirely female team of astronauts for the first time in space. Back in 2019, it couldn’t send female astronauts due to a lack of spacesuits in their sizes.
Anne McClain and Christina Koch were supposed to leave for the Artemis mission. However, NASA realized their spacesuits were misfitted and replaced these women with their colleagues before invading the sky.
A well-fitting suit is essential to combat the external vacuum pressure so that the lungs wouldn’t collapse. Moreover, a good suit will neutralize excessive fatigue and reduce any physical harm.
Special Features of AxEMU
This spacesuit prototype, or Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit, is more streamlined. Further, an astronaut will experience improved mobility to operate more efficiently on the Southern Lunar surface.
Jim Stein, the Chief Engineer of this project, has given a live demonstration of this spacesuit. During the session, Axiom Space President and CEO said,
“Axiom Space’s Artemis III spacesuit will be ready to meet the complex challenges of the lunar south pole and help grow our understanding of the moon in order to enable a long-term presence there.”
Additionally, the designer team said that the spacesuit involves 3D printers and lasers to impart precise measurements.
To capture the moon film, this spacesuit integrates an HD video camera. This way, one can watch high-definition videos of the moon back on Earth. Likewise, the spacesuit has in-built lights to see the lunar geological surface and collect samples.
NASA’s spacesuit will provide the right amount of oxygen to keep the body functioning. Moreover, with its boots, an astronaut can withstand external freezing temperatures. By all means, this spacesuit will let astronauts survive on the lunar oxygen-deficit and freezing surface.
