Lara Kearney

NASA has asked two of its commercial partners to develop spacesuit designs for different tasks than the ones initially assigned to them, with the space agency looking to have backup options should any issues arise in the future.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonAxiom Space and Collins Aerospace were awarded task orders under existing contracts with NASA, each worth $5 million, the space agency announced on Monday. Axiom Space will develop its spacesuit design so that it can also be used in low Earth orbit, while…

Photo: Axiom SpaceThe most noticeable thing about the Moon suit shown yesterday was its dark gray color highlighted by streaks of orange and blue. The suit that astronauts will wear during space missions won’t have this fabric colorand will instead be all white. “Since a spacesuit worn on the Moon must be white to reflect heat and protect astronauts from extreme high temperatures, a cover layer is currently being used for display purposes only to conceal the suit’s proprietary design,” according to Axiom Space. As Mark…

Dubbed AxEMU, the next generation suit is designed to be safe, flexible, and capable of withstanding the extreme temperatures experienced at the lunar south pole, where two NASA astronauts are expected to land later this decade.The first prototype of the next generation spacesuit was revealed during a Moon to Mars event at NASA’s Space Center Houston on Wednesday. NASA partnered with Axiom Space to develop the first moonwalking spacesuits since Apollo, which will be worn by astronauts on the lunar surface as part of the…

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio during a spacewalk outside the ISS on November 15.Photo: NASAAstronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) are overdue for some new threads, but NASA is hoping to upgrade its spacesuits soon. The space agency awarded Collins Aerospace a $97.2 million contract to develop a spacewalking system to use outside the space station, NASA announced on Thursday.The company is tasked with designing and developing a new generation spacesuit and demonstrating the use of the suit in a simulated…

The US space agency has selected Axiom Space to deliver a moonwalking system for astronauts for the Artemis III mission, which will land Americans on the surface of the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.This award -- the first one under a competitive spacesuits contract -- is for a task order to develop a next generation Artemis spacesuit and supporting systems, and to demonstrate their use on the lunar surface during Artemis III, NASA said in a statement.With this award, NASA has put in place another cornerstone…

Artistic impression of an Artemis Moon landing.Image: NASANASA hopes to land a man and a woman on the lunar surface in late 2025, but the space agency currently lacks a functional moonwalking spacesuit. Houston-based Axiom Space has now been brought in to fill this glaring gap. Under the newly awarded $228.5 million Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) contract, Axiom must develop “a next generation Artemis spacesuit and supporting systems,” and also “demonstrate their use on the lunar surface,” according…