NASA has selected Axiom Space to deliver a moonwalking-capable spacesuit for the planned Artemis III human landing mission.
This will land astronauts onto the surface of the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. The award – the first one under a competitive spacesuits contract – is for a task order to develop a next-generation Artemis spacesuit and supporting systems, and to demonstrate their use on the lunar surface during Artemis III.
Axiom Space beat bids from competitors including Collins Aerospace which, like Axiom, had previously received funds for its development work. The new production contract has a value of US$228.5 million to Axiom. This will be just for the first mission and follow-on orders are expected for later missions.
Artist’s impression of moonwalking astronauts in Axion Space spacesuits. Courtesy: NASA
Highlighting increased diversity as a driver for the Artemis project, NASA announced that it would land the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon as part of the mission. It is presumed that the new suit will be made to fit different sizes. Axiom Space will also be required to test the suits in a spacelike environment before Artemis III.
Lara Kearney, Manager of NASA’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility program, said: “NASA is proud to partner with commercial industry on this historic mission that will kickstart the United States building a lasting presence on the surface of the Moon.
“What we learn on Artemis III and future missions on and around the Moon will pave the way for missions to Mars. Spacesuits enable us to literally take that next step,” she added.
Comment by David Todd: There are some key differences between the space suits used for extra vehicular activities (spacewalks) on the International Space Station and those needed for moonwalking. Apart from increased protection from sandpaper-like moon dust, the crucial change will be in the leg design. Current ISS spacesuits do not have bending legs, while the new ones will have special constant- volume bellows joints to allow walking. ILC Dover was part of the Collins bid. It had been a supplier of NASA spacesuits since its Moon suit for Apollo. As such, there was surprise that it did not make the cut for the new contract.
