NASA intends for its Artemis program to go much further than Apollo did in its day. Although there is still time left for human beings to set foot on the Moon again, little by little progress is being made in everything necessary. One of the key points was the spacesuits that the astronauts will wear, which were presented this week at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan (Italy).
With the Apollo program, we went to the Moon up to six times. But NASA has the goal of doing it more times with Artemis and, in addition, it plans to carry out long stays of even months on the surface of the Earth’s only natural satellite. Therefore, the spacesuits that have been manufactured have had to be developed thinking about withstanding the conditions of the Moon.
The name of the suit is AxEMU which refers to “Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit” in English. Axiom Space has been the brand in charge of creating the high-tech lunar uniform. But they have had the special collaboration of Prada, which has been in charge of designing the clothing that the next astronauts who will set foot on the Moon will wear.
In this week’s unveiling of the suit, Axiom has clarified that it is in the final stages of development. It’s not 100% ready, but almost. What’s more, they have already subjected it to some of the most important tests. For example, they tested it underwater to simulate the lunar environment at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and performed reduced gravity simulations at the Johnson Space Center.
Peggy Whitson
@AstroPeggy
Pleased to apply my expertise of being in space to the testing and design process of Prada!
https://t.co/7OY2Q7cjJ0Axiom Space, Prada Unveil Spacesuit Design for Moon Return — Axiom SpaceFrom axiomspace.comOctober 16, 2024 • 16:03
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Temperatures three times lower than those of Antarctica
Likewise, during missions, astronauts are expected to venture into the dark craters of the lunar south pole, an area that does not see sunlight and is therefore extremely cold. Therefore, your clothing must withstand adverse weather conditions.
According to the US space agency, some deep craters haven’t seen daylight for billions, so temperatures there can dip as low as -334 degrees Fahrenheit. [-203,333 grados Celsius]«. There is no area on Earth that gets this cold. In fact, NASA explains that these craters are almost three times colder “than the lowest temperature recorded in Antarctica.”
The space suits they have designed for Artemis will be prepared to isolate them from temperatures of more than -200 ºC. In this way, astronauts will be able to stay in the craters that have not seen the Sun for a long time and investigate the area without freezing.
But they will not only have to withstand very frozen areas, but also high temperatures. The edges of the craters can reach 54ºC and “very sharp” lunar dust.
When will the spacesuit be tested on the Moon?
The first time we will be able to see the AxEMU in full action on the Moon will be with NASA’s Artemis III mission. In theory, it is scheduled for September 2026, but it could be delayed if everything is not ready by then. Those who go on the ship will spend a week exploring and collecting samples from the icy craters at the south pole of the Moon and that will be possible thanks to the space suits.
Experts explain that, in the areas through which the astronauts will move on Artemis III, there is frozen water. For this reason, it is so important that they travel to that area and that the lunar uniform they wear can withstand such low temperatures.
In a statement from Axiom Space, they explain that the AxEMU suits are capable of “withstanding the coldest temperatures in permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours.” This is a great advance for space missions, since the 25-layer clothing used for Apollo was estimated to “only” withstand -250 ºF (-156.66 ºC).
In short, the new spacesuits are designed to fit almost all body sizes. According to its creators, this will allow astronauts to carry out space walks of up to eight hours.
