A spacesuit prototype of what NASA Astronauts, including the first woman, plan to wear on the surface of the Moon during the agency’s NASA Artemis III mission was revealed today by Axiom Space.
The Artemis III spacesuit, the AxEMU, is showcased in a dark gray cover material, but the final version will likely be all-white when worn by NASA astronauts on the Moon’s surface, to help keep the astronauts safe and cool while working in the harsh environment of space.
NASA selected Axiom Space to deliver a moonwalking system to land the first astronauts near the lunar South Pole. By working with commercial partners, NASA is enabling a growing space economy that leverages industry capabilities and NASA’s expertise to provide spacewalk and moonwalk services as safely, effectively, and efficiently as possible.
New spacesuits allow humans to explore the lunar surface and advance our capability for human exploration in space. Under Artemis, new exploration spacesuits and other human surface mobility systems, along with the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion Spacecraft, Exploration Ground Systems facilities, Gateway lunar space station, and human landing systems, will enable NASA to return humans to the Moon and establish a long-term presence there for scientific discovery. This experience prepares us for the next giant leap: sending astronauts to Mars.
– Johnson Space Center
Years ago, there was a fascinating article (in Aviation Week, I believe) which described the differences between Soviet space suits and ours. The key takeaway however, to me, was that these suits were not so much garments as spacecraft in themselves. They were designed and built more like vehicles…
Ok…color me skeptical, but don’t dark colors retain incidence radiation (heat) from the sun as opposed to reflecting it? Isn’t that the reason almost everything exo-atmorspheric is white or has a high albedo?
The suit needs to be black why? Or do I really want to know the answer…
Read the first sentence under the photo.
People don’t read, Collin. Look at the pictures. Make comments.
I like how the article explains that the new AxEMU spacesuits will be made in both black and white, that way we will be able to tell who to root for during the final space-fight show down right before the credits roll. Also, we are overdue for a remake of “Moonraker.”
Although they clarify white for “real” version, still a lot of “WHY” make promo pics of a black/grey variant on a black background. Was there a sweet sale on space fabric in other colors for prototyping?
It’s space camo. If you become untethered and float away, that’s so no-one can see you.
Black is slimming and always in style. Oh, and there was a sale, yes.
Where I work uses the same cloth used in the space suits. Beta cloth it’s called. Silica fibre cloth. We use it for insulative blankets on satellites. Beta cloth I was told is $10,000 for a 100 meter roll. The part that is used for the insulative part is called Kapton and I was told it’s $38,000 for a 100 meter roll.
I don’t think they ever have sales on it.
I bet the helmet attaches with velcro.
Which Hollywood producer will film this time? Kubrick has been dead for a minute.
Legit question. What happens if your nose or face itches or you sneeze while in the suit. I know there is no dust but who knows. What about nose itching.
Lol first woman? What is that mean exactly? Probably a dude wearing lipstick.
There’s a fascinating book about the making of the Apollo spacesuits, “Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo” by Nicholas de Monchaux. There was talk of a documentary based on the book, but I don’t know if that ever went anywhere.