NASA & Axiom Space Unveil Spacesuit For Astronauts, Artemis III Mission

NASA and the Houston-based aerospace company Axiom Space unveil the look of a new spacesuit for astronauts on the Artemis III mission, according to a media report on Wednesday.

It added the brand-new suit will witness the first lunar landing of the NASA program that includes returning astronauts to the moon. 

Commenting on the suit, Russell Ralston, EVA deputy program manager at Axiom Space said the new suits are designed to be more mobile in comparison to the bulky and inflexible Apollo suits that caused astronauts to fall while walking on the moon.

He said that the new spacesuit will allow an easier walk and other same tasks that they did back in Apollo.

The suit is redesigned right from top to bottom. A new helmet is also added to improve visibility, and the boots are specially designed for moonwalking, complete with thermal insulation suitable for the moon's south pole. 

According to reports, Axiom Space and NASA will be responsible for the evaluation of the suit, testing it at the Johnson Space Centre’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, where part of a 40-foot-deep pool has been transformed into a lunar landscape.

It added, the American space agency NASA has outsourced the project to Axiom after 15 years of developing its own next-generation moon suit and the company have adapted over half of NASA's original design. 

Peggy Whitson, the director of human spaceflight at Axiom emphasised, the spacesuit is the first to be specifically designed to fit a woman. 

Meanwhile, the brand-new spacesuit is crafted using advanced technology, such as laser cutters and 3-D printers that create components, resulting in cost and time savings production. And only certain components are assembled using traditional sewing machines.