The sleeker spacesuits will replace the white, puffy, and bulky moon suits.
NASA on Wednesday unveiled the first prototype of a new spacesuit that astronauts will wear to explore the Moon under the Artemis III mission. Created by Axiom Space, the sleeker spacesuits will replace the white, puffy, and bulky moon suits previously worn by Neil Armstrong and his fellow Apollo astronauts.
In a tweet, NASA Artemis shared the picture and wrote, ''@Axiom_Space revealed a spacesuit prototype that our @NASA_Astronauts plan to wear near the Moon's South Pole on @NASA 's #Artemis III mission. The spacesuit will give lunar explorers extra mobility, protection, & the latest technology.''
The suit prototype called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or AxEMU is a sleek grayish black, with hints of orange and blue, with an Axiom logo front and center. However, the actual suit will be white for thermal reasons.
See the picture here:
The suits will provide greater flexibility and more protection from the moon's harsh environment and will come in a wider range of sizes, according to the Houston-based company. As per CBS News, the new helmet offers improved visibility, and the boots are specially designed for moonwalking, complete with thermal insulation suitable for the moon's south pole.
These improved suits will be worn during the Artemis III mission, the program's first moon landing, which is scheduled for 2025.
According to Peggy Whitson, the director of the human spaceflight at Axiom and a former NASA astronaut, the spacesuit is the first to be specifically designed to fit a woman.
''NASA's partnership with Axiom is critical to landing astronauts on the Moon and continuing American leadership in space. Building on NASA's years of research and expertise, Axiom's next-generation spacesuits will not only enable the first woman to walk on the Moon, but they will also open opportunities for more people to explore and conduct science on the Moon than ever before,'' NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.
Notably, Artemis III will land astronauts, including the first woman, on the Moon to advance long-term lunar exploration and scientific discovery.