By Richard Tew, NASA/JSC Technology Correspondent for The Post Newspaper
Last Thursday at Space Center Houston, Axiom Space, a NASA commercial partner, along with NASA representatives revealed a space suit concept for the upcoming Artemis III mission to the Moon. That mission is set for 2025.
The last generation of space suits designed for Moon missions were used in 1972, some 50-years-ago.
“When I look back at the Apollo program, we look at those iconic images of that technology that enabled those astronauts to take those first steps on the moon: their spacesuit,” said NASA Associate Administrator Robert Cabana.
Cabana said there are resources on the Moon which will help astronauts eventually make their way to Mars.
“And why are we going there? It’s challenging. We’re going to learn more. There’s water ice there. Water is hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe,” said Cabana. “We are going to learn how to operate on the Moon for extended amounts of time and learn how to operate from planet Earth and utilize the resources on the Moon.”
The Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit was demonstrated in front of a packed theater by Axiom Space engineer Jim Stein.
The suit is a slimmer, more streamlined version of what most will remember of past space suits: large, heavy and limited in range of motion. The prototype AxEMU suit was presented in a tri-color configuration with the suit being mostly black with blue and orange accents. The final version will be white, which helps with thermal variations present in outer space and on the surface of the Moon.
Other features include lights around the top of the suit, on the helmet bubble, accompanied by HD video cameras so flight controllers and directors on Earth can see what astronauts see. There is also a pronounced backpack which contains oxygen and air temperature regulation equipment. The suit is also filled with multiple “joints” for the arms and knee areas, giving users much more mobility than previous suits offered.
Axiom Space’s CEO Michael Suffredini said their suit is based off of ten years of research at JSC by suit experts.
“We are happy to have all of that expertise and all of that work done,” said Suffredini. “I think when it’s all said and done, I think fifty percent of the suit will be based on the original design by NASA and probably the other fifty percent will be the work this team sitting in the auditorium will do.”
Suffredini says the design is based on developing a space suit that is safe, has redundancy and is durable for continued use.
“This is a critical system. When you do an EVA, it’s a significant challenge,” said Suffredini. “It’s very important that you have very strict safety guidelines and a suit that will provide the redundancy and the reliability you need to make sure every time a human steps foot on the Moon that they will be able to do what they need to do safely and get back and be ready for the next mission.”
Photo cutline: Axiom Space’s Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) prototype space suit was unveiled last Thursday at Space Center Houston. Photo by Axiom Space.
When he’s not writing on NASA/JSC and related tech, Richard Tew teaches Irish dance to all ages in Clear Lake. Learn more at www.tewirishdance.wordpress.com.
