NASA showed a women's suit for walking on the moon (10 photos + 1 video)

NASA unveils new gear for the Artemis mission III. It will be worn by the first woman to land on the surface of the moon in 2025. This is the first space suit designed specifically for women.





NASA unveiled its new spacesuit to be worn astronauts of the Artemis III mission on the Moon. It has been specially designed for the first woman to walk on the lunar surface.

The agency developed the new equipment in partnership with aerospace company Axiom. It has improved mobility compared to the bulky suits of the Apollo mission, which astronauts fell while walking on the lunar surface.

In the new spacesuit Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) astronauts can walk rather than jump like their predecessors, which will allow them to bend over and lift objects above their heads.



Innovative gear made from Mylar and Kevlar, includes helmets, boots specifically designed for moon walks, and a portable life support system that, according to according to the developers, “looks like a combination of fancy scuba gear and air conditioner".

At the presentation, the suit was shown in a dark blue design, to hide proprietary components, but Axiom stated that when astronauts will wear the suit for the first time in 2025, its outer layer will be white.





Mike Saffredini, the company's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement:

"We continue the tradition of NASA, developing an improved space suit, which will allow astronauts to work safely and efficiently on the Moon. The Artemis III suit from Axiom Space will be ready to solve complex tasks at the south pole of the moon and will help expand our understanding of the moon, to ensure a long-term human presence there.”

The AxEMU suit presented at the Moon 2 Mars festival in Space Center Houston, is the prototype. By the end of this summer NASA will be delivered the entire set of training suits.

Axiom was awarded a $228.5 million contract for development of a space suit in which an astronaut can work up to eight hours without a break.

"The suit will give the astronauts enhanced opportunities for space exploration, at the same time providing NASA with the quality life support systems needed to access, life and work on and around the Moon. Improved The suit ensures that the astronauts are equipped with high performance and reliable equipment, and designed for use by all members crew,” Axiom said in a statement.



At the presentation, the prototype was decorated with the Axiom logo and represented by the company's corporate colors: blue, black and orange. Luke on the back allows the astronauts to climb into the spacesuit, and the enlarged helmet covers the upper body. The suit consists of several layers: the inner layer that keeps the air inside the suit, like balloon, and a bounding layer that retains its shape. An insulating layer of innovative fabrics protects astronauts from significant fluctuations in the temperature of the moon, and the outer layer is resistant to breaks and dust.



The Artemis III suit has a range of motion and the flexibility needed to explore the lunar landscape. He will fit a wide range of astronauts: in terms of its dimensional parameters, it will fit less than 90 percent of the male and female population of the United States. According to joint statement by Axiom and NASA, the next step is to test new spacesuit in the Space Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Johnson Center in Houston, where a 15-meter pool will simulated lunar landscape.



Lara Kearney, who oversees the program at NASA, said: “Following tests will give us a good idea of how mobile the suit is and how fatigue, if anything, will be felt by crew members. after work for six or seven hours.



Axiom has used state-of-the-art technology to the process of creating a costume, including laser machines for reties of fabric and 3D printers to create some hardware components.

According to the developers, the new suit has everything you need to survive.



NASA is currently working on launching its mission "Artemis II", in which astronauts will go to the moon in 2024 year. Three Americans and a Canadian prepare to be the first people who have gone to the moon since 1972.

The crew, which should go into space in 18 months, had already begun to prepare for the mission, but their personalities remained in strictly confidential until NASA's announcement on April 3rd.

"Artemis III" is the last stage of the lunar program, in in which the first woman and colored person will walk on the lunar surfaces. So far, only 12 people have set foot on the moon, and all of them were white men. The last to leave their footprints on the surface was Eugene Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 mission, on which he was a bulky white suit that made walking difficult.



In addition, as part of the Artemis III mission, humans will land on the south pole of the moon for the first time.



The Artemis III mission is part of an ambitious program whose goal is to return people to the moon for the first time since completion of the historic Apollo missions in 1972. NASA hopes ensure a long-term human presence on the surface of the moon, and then start a multi-year journey to Mars.

In the first part of the Artemis program, a capsule without a crew returned to Earth after more than 25 days of mission, during which tested Orion technology to ensure the safety of astronauts. Artemis I was launched on November 16, 2022, marking the first milestone in the US space agency's goal of returning humans to the surface of the moon for the first time in half a century. However, the program suffers all the time from numerous delays that delayed the first launch three months, from August 2022. Then the space launch system worth $4 billion ran into fuel leak problems, difficulties with the engine, and then waited out the appearance of two hurricanes.