NASA has commissioned commercial companies Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to make new spacesuits for the space agency. Future astronauts will wear the suits during spacewalks and when returning to the moon. The cost of developing the spacesuits is 3.5 billion dollars (3.28 billion euros).
The suits should be ready for the first mission of Project Artemis, the space program that will return American astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1969. If all goes according to plan, it should happen in 2025.
NASA astronauts have been wearing the same type of suit for 40 years. It needs to be replaced, but NASA is unable to develop it on its own. The space agency began working on new spacesuits in 2007, and has since spent $420 million on them. The first prototype was presented in 2019, but due to lack of funds, technical problems and the COVID-19 pandemic, further development was delayed again.
That’s why the organization has now hired two other companies to do the lawsuits. In total, NASA spends $3.5 billion. It is not known what the exact distribution of this amount is between Collins Aerospace and Axiom Space.
Companies have been working on spacesuits for years
Collins Aerospace has a lot of experience in space suits. The company also helped develop existing NASA suits. Axiom Space is a relative newcomer. The company usually focuses on building private space stations. Once the spacesuits are made, they can be used by NASA, but they will remain in the hands of space companies. This means that it can also be used for other tasks.
Space suits should be appropriate for different body types. In addition, they should be more diverse and less bulky than current NASA spacesuits.
For companies, the suits should be ready in 2025. Both Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace have been developing their own spacesuits for years.
