Nasa unveils first new spacesuits in 40 years built for 2024 return to the Moon
NASA has unveiled an upgrade to its astronaut wardrobe ahead of a planned lunar landing in 2024. Two new spacesuits tailored for moonwalking were shown off by Nasa engineers in a bizarre catwalk-style show at its Washington, D.C. headquarters on Tuesday. They were designed for Artemis, Nasa’s ambitious mission to put man on the Moon […]
NASA has unveiled an upgrade to its astronaut wardrobe ahead of a planned lunar landing in 2024.
Two new spacesuits tailored for moonwalking were shown off by Nasa engineers in a bizarre catwalk-style show at its Washington, D.C. headquarters on Tuesday.
They were designed for Artemis, Nasa’s ambitious mission to put man on the Moon for the first time since 1972.
Donning the new spacesuits, Nasa scientists did squats and crunches in front of a raucous crowd to reveal what the zero-gravity space-wear would look like.
“This is the first suit we’ve designed in about 40 years,” Chris Hansen, a manager at Nasa’s spacesuit design office, said.
“What you saw today was a prototype of the pressure garment. The life support system is back in a lab in Houston.
“We want systems that allow our astronauts to be scientists on the surface of the moon.”
President Donald Trump urged Nasa in March to accelerate its latest moon-landing plans by four years to 2024.
The request came a few months ahead of the 50th anniversary of the first lunar footsteps by Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Nasa has named the program Artemis after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology and promises the first moonwalking team will include a woman.
Nasa's Artemis lunar mission – key facts
Here's everything we know so far...
- Nasa has pledged to land man – and woman – on the Moon in 2024
- The mission, dubbed Artemis, will mark the first time astronauts have set foot on the lunar surface since 1972
- A giant Nasa rocket dubbed the Space Launch System will carry astronauts beyond Earth’s atmosphere
- Once at the Moon, two astronauts will descend to the surface from an orbiting craft called the Lunar Gateway
- Nasa has pledged that one of the landing crew will be female, marking the first time a woman has set foot on the Moon
- The pair will land on the lunar south pole, where vast reserves of frozen water could be tapped for future explorers
- The landing system that brought the astronauts to the surface will then blast back to the Lunar Gateway
- They will board an specialised capsule dubbed Orion for the 250,000-mile trip back to Earth
- Nasa has a mountain of technical challenges to overcome before Artemis gets the green light
- It’s still not clear if everything will be ready in time for the ambitious 2024 launch date
- Nasa boss Jim Bridenstine has said the Moon will serve as a critical training ground for Mars expeditions, perhaps in the 2030s
The pair would land on the lunar south pole, where vast reserves of frozen water could be tapped for future explorers.
The goal is to colonise the moon as a staging ground for future missions to Mars.
One suit of orange fabric will be worn by astronauts when inside the spacecraft. Astronauts will wear a much bigger, mostly white suit on the lunar surface.
The new suits make it much easier to walk, bend and squat when walking on the lunar surface, Amy Ross, Nasa’s lead spacesuit engineer, said.
“Basically, my job is to take a basketball, shape it like a human, keep them alive in a harsh environment, and give them the mobility to do their job,” she said.
Serious doubts have been raised over whether Nasa can hit its 2024 goal for Artmeis, its first manned lunar mission in over 50 years.
The space agency has repeatedly promised the project is on schedule.
Last month, a top Nasa boss cast doubt over the space agency’s ability to meet its hair-raising deadline.
Kenneth Bowersox, who heads up Nasa’s human exploration and operations division, told a Congressional subcommittee that the agency is doing its best to hit its targets.
But he noted: “I wouldn’t bet my oldest child’s upcoming birthday present or anything like that.”
Bowersox, a former space shuttle and space station commander, said it’s good for Nasa to have “that aggressive goal.”
Nasa boss Jim Bridenstine, who’s pushing Artemis every chance he gets, stresses the goal is sustainability this time around, with the moon serving as a critical training ground for Mars expeditions, perhaps in the 2030s.
The agency’s replacement for the Apollo-era Saturn V rocket, the Space Launch System or “SLS”, is still in development.
Its launch debut has slipped repeatedly and, according to Bowersox, will occur no earlier than the end of next year.
This initial test flight will send an Orion capsule around the moon with no one on board.
The space agency still needs to come up with new lunar landers and rovers.
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In other Nasa news, the space agency recently came under fire for cancelling the first all-female spacewalk because it didn’t have enough spacesuits that fit.
Its scientists recently paid volunteers £14,000 to watch TV in bed to test the benefits of artificial gravity.
And here are the space mysteries that even Nasa can’t explain.
What do you think of Nasa’s new suits? Let us know in the comments!
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