As part of the next step for the Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent presence on the Moon, earlier today, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed its new spacesuit developed by Axiom Space. Axiom won a multi-million dollar NASA contract for the suit in September last year, and its suit is a collaboration between the space agency and NASA, with the pair leveraging experiences from the Apollo program and the suits used by astronauts on the ISS. Axiom's announcement saw the company cover the spacesuit with a layer to protect its design. The firm expects to deliver the suits to NASA later this year, with the announcement simply unveiling the suit and providing a brief overview of its design.
Axiom's Moon Space Suit Features Custom Design For Astronaut Movement
Axiom's demonstration of the spacesuit started by describing its helmet. This helmet has lights mounted at the top and a high-definition video camera on the left side. The camera and the lights are mounted on the suit's helmet bubble, which is connected to the hard upper torso - the portion of the suit connected from the waist to the region behind the neck and the upper back.
Like suits currently used by the International Space Station (ISS) crew, the Axiom spacesuit officially called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), will also utilize a rear-mounted backpack for life support systems such as oxygen and thermal control. The suit also features key upgrades over the Apollo spacesuits in mobility features that allow the crew to fully bend their knees and pick up equipment or other objects from the Moon's surface.
Finally, astronauts will don (wear) the suit by entering it from the backside, with its backpack swinging open through latches on the left. The spacesuits used by ISS astronauts are not designed for walking and are too heavy to be used on the Moon. Additionally, they are not dust resistant, and their weight would not allow the crew to stand up after potentially falling on the lunar surface. For Artemis 3, the suit's insulation layer will be responsible for dust resistance and is a proprietary Axiom design.
Axiom's deputy EVA program deputy program manager Mr. Russell Ralston explained that the suit will not be tested on the space station before it flies to the Moon as part of the Artemis 3 mission scheduled for 2025. The Artemis 1 mission took off last year and will be followed by the first crewed flight, Artemis 2, next year. However, this flight will only see the astronauts fly around the Moon, with Artemis 3 using SpaceX's Starship lunar lander to transport them to the Moon's surface.
Sizing is a key consideration for spacesuit design, and the Axiom suit will not be custom fit for each crew member - unlike SpaceX's suit for the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which sees the firm make a new suit for each astronaut. Instead, Axiom will swap out different parts of the suit such as its elbow and knee joints to account for different body sizes. According to Mr. Ralston, the suit has been designed to accommodate astronauts from the 1% female size to the 99% male body size.
The suit's hard upper torso, helmet bubble and its boots are mostly NASA designs, with its gloves, seals, and other internal components designed by Axiom. Crucially, a single person will be able to wear the suit themselves, with Axiom designing the features right now to allow them to close the hatch. Astronauts can function in the suit for eight hours, longer than the current-day spacesuits designed for six and a half hours. The spacesuit is also designed for a higher metabolic rate, giving the crew a broader margin for strenuous activities.
NASA has a service contract with Axiom, through which the firm owns the hardware designed to meet the agency's requirements. This also leaves Axiom free to enter into agreements with other customers and reduces the government's cost burden of developing the expensive hardware. NASA's Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) awarded the company a $228 million task order under the $1.26 billion contract in September last year. Axiom is also building a commercial space station, which should be crucial for the spacesuit's market adaptability.
The suit has an inner layer, called the bladder layer, that holds the air inside it, and this is covered by the restraint layer, which maintains the shape of the inner layer and is responsible for maintaining the suit's shape. On top of this is a multi-layer insulation layer that will protect the astronaut from the harsh space environment, such as extreme temperatures and ultraviolet light. Within the insulation layer, one layer is the aluminized mylar, which helps with heat insulation. The insulation layer is one of the most important portions of the suit, as it provides cut, puncture and other resistances to keep the astronaut safe.
Axiom's dust protection approach involves designing it to stop dust from gathering on the suit in the first place. However, once the dust has gathered on the surface, it has to stay there and not contaminate the lunar lander. To achieve this, the suit will be able to clean itself and ensure that the dust does not dissipate into the surroundings. The suit might also have components designed to come off once dust accumulates on them.
One revolutionary feature of the spacesuit is its life support system, with the water-member evaporator, or the cooling system for the suit and the crew, has been in development for a stunning two decades.
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