NASA Selects Partners To Develop New Suits For Returning To The Moon
The suits will also be worn by crew members living and working on the International Space Station. The orbital laboratory is not only a test site for space exploration, but also new technologies.
The contracts were awarded by NASA as part of its commercial partnership development strategy.
Both companies have been selected to move forward with the development of the next generation of space suits. Depending on how the two companies deliver space suits and their EVA capabilities, one company may dominate the other. This flexibility has been built into task rewards as the two companies move forward in product development. “Through these awards, NASA and our partners will develop advanced and reliable spacesuits that enable people to explore space like never before,” said Vanessa Veach, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The Artemis program aims to land the first woman and the first person of color on the south pole of the moon by 2025 and eventually prepare to land manned missions to Mars. NASA specialists have developed the necessary safety standards and technical requirements for spacesuits. Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace will design, develop and possibly manufacture space suits and any necessary equipment for the space station crew and Artemis astronauts.
The suits are expected to be ready by the mid-2020s. The new suits and their capabilities “will help us explore more of the Moon than ever before,” said Lindsey Aitchison, NASA program manager for extravehicular activities and human surface mobility.
