NGL, NASA's $228m Spacesuits Go Kinda Hard
NASA's new spacesuits are, as the kids say, kinda fire. The AxEMU, a spacesuit prototype designed by Axiom Space for the Artemis III mission, is one of the coolest spacesuits in recent history, or should I say warmest?
These AxEMU spacesuits, revealed during a press conference on March 15, were created with extremely cold temperatures in mind, as the Artemis III mission currently scheduled for 2025 will send astronauts — including the first woman and first person of color — to the moon's surface as they explore the lunar South Pole, becoming the first moonwalking suits of the Artemis series.
If you thought the Earth's South Pole was cold (-18°F to -76°F), they've got nothing on the moon, where temperatures at the poles can plummet to –267°F.
It's a shame that these fairly slick spacesuits won't be getting much light on the moon's surface, as they're pretty excellent (actually, they won't be getting any light, but more on this in a second).
On a technical level, the AxEMU spacesuits boast an adjustable form that NASA claims will comfortably fit "at least 90 percent of the US male and female population." If only our clothes down here on Earth were so generous!
That's what a $228.5 million government contract will get ya, I suppose.
But from a purely aesthetic perspective, the AxEMU spacesuits are just handsome in general. Dark grey throughout, with little pops of blue and navy, these are like a less hard-wearing iteration of some kinda gear you'd wear in Dead Space
Sadly, these grey versions are mere prototypes of the real AxEMU spacesuits that astronauts will wear on the Artemis III mission. The actual kits will be white, which makes sense but is so much less interesting!
But you'd want to emphasize visibility over drip when you're walking on the moon's surface, huh.
NASA has conducted two Artemis test flights already, as the names imply. Only the third one will be manned and it'll be staffed with folks wearing this cutting-edge spacesuit, looking quite fly (though less fly than they could've looked) as they hurtle into the unknown.
