Chief Engineer Jim Stein wears the new spacesuit during the Axiom Space Artemis III Lunar Spacesuit event at Space Center Houston in Houston, Texas, on March 15, 2023. “Since a spacesuit worn on the Moon must be white to reflect heat and protect astronauts from extreme high temperatures, a cover layer is currently being used for display purposes only to conceal the suits proprietary design, ” Axion said in a press release.
Mark Felix | AFP | Getty Images
Axiom Space on Wednesday revealed a prototype of the lunar spacesuit that NASA plans to use for its astronauts during Artemis missions, which are set to launch later this decade.
“This is a big deal for us” Axiom President and CEO Michael Suffredini said during an event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“We’re pleased that humanity’s next steps on the moon are going to be in an Axiom spacesuit,” Suffredini added.
The company won an initial contract worth $228.5 million last year to design and build the spacesuits, which are planned for use on the Artemis III mission and onward. NASA’s Artemis program represents a series of missions with escalating goals. The agency successfully completed the first, uncrewed flight in December.
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In addition to Axiom, NASA also awarded a contract to Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon, to build next-generation spacesuits. Under the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services program, NASA expects to provide up to $3.5 billion for spacesuits through 2034.
