These Two Space Companies Have Been Successfully Selected By NASA To Make Astronaut Suits To The Moon

Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace have been selected to make space suits for NASA astronauts. (photo; doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Currently, NASA is preparing to carry out a mission to the Moon or Artemis I, in addition to capable vehicles, one of which is also preparing clothes for its astronauts.

Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace have been selected to make space suits for NASA astronauts. The two companies will develop next-generation outfits that will be used both for missions to the Moon and to the International Space Station (ISS).

"History will be made of these clothes when we get to the Moon. We will have our first colored people and our first women who will wear and wear these clothes in space," said NASA Johnson Space Center director Vanessa Wyche.

NASA says it has set technical and safety standards in its astronaut suits with the new xEMU (Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit) equipment, but it is up to the two partners to handle design, development, qualification, and certification and build the necessary support equipment.

The next generation of clothing will be more flexible, versatile and durable. NASA initially wanted to make the suits themselves, but began turning to industrial partners after the agency's auditors said the astronaut suits were facing development delays.

According to NASA, the new outfit could be ready as soon as 2025, after testing either on the ISS or a simulated environment. The space agency is also gearing up for other new equipment, such as the lunar landers from SpaceX and more companies, having new outfits is one of its most important tasks for those future missions.

Today, astronauts still rely on space equipment designed some 45 years ago for the Space Shuttle program.

In an August 2021 report, NASA noted that its xEMU plans are unlikely to reach its initial 2024 target, and that it has already spent about $420 million developing the new outfit.