Revealing a new design for the astronaut suit developed by NASA
The new spacesuit demonstrated by NASA at Axiom, Texas. March 15, 2023 - AFP
The big, puffy white suits worn by astronaut Neil Armstrong and his colleagues on their mission to the surface of the moon in the Apollo program half a century ago have become obsolete, as modern astronaut clothing needs designs that take the shape of the body and suit both men and women.
The US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled the first model of a newly designed space suit, specifically for the first mission of astronauts who are expected to ascend to the moon in the next few years.
The latest design for a lunar suit was displayed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA, in an event organized for the media and students and hosted by the Texas-based company Axiom Space, which was asked by NASA to make suits for astronauts participating in the Artemis program, the successor to the Apollo lunar program.
NASA Chief Engineer Jim Stein wears a new spacesuit that NASA previews at Axiom, Texas. March 15, 2023 - AFP
The Artemis 1 mission, the first launch of NASA's powerful new rocket and newly built Orion spacecraft on an uncrewed test flight around the moon and back, ended successfully in December.
A trip to the south pole of the moon
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency intend to announce on April 3 the four astronauts who have been chosen for the Artemis 2 mission, which will be launched soon, perhaps next year, and will also be a mission to orbit the moon and then return to Earth.
If this flight is successful, it will pave the way for sending the Artemis 3 mission, during which astronauts will land on the surface of the moon and will be the first trip ever to its south pole, and is scheduled to be launched later this decade. She will also be the first to send a woman to walk on the moon.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the new astronaut suits "will provide opportunities for more people to explore and conduct scientific studies on the surface of the moon than before."
The new suits that the Artemis mission astronauts will wear will look very different from the previous thick suits.
The new suits are modern, more streamlined and flexible than those worn by the astronauts on the Apollo missions, and they allow greater room for movement and vary in size.
Source: websites