The American Space Agency has lifted the veil on the new generation of space suits dedicated to the Artemis program, which will equip astronauts on their way to the Moon by 2024.
These combinations are the fruit of several years of development, in particular to allow greater ease in movement, but also better protection against extreme conditions on the surface of the Moon. In addition to the significant temperature variations, the lunar dust consists of extremely abrasive particles which had very quickly damaged the suits of the Apollo program. NASA thus admitted having underestimated the situation during these first lunar missions.
With these new combinations, astronauts should have more freedom of movement, manage to touch their heads or rather the helmet, bend their limbs with ease and therefore move more easily on the Moon.
Better yet, each combination can be adapted to different sizes. We remember how some of the ISS's extravehicular exits were abandoned due to the lack of the right size suit.
The new suit will withstand radiation as well as temperatures from -152 to 121 degrees, allowing access to unexplored areas of the Moon and on longer missions than those of the Apollo program. The new available air recycling system will also provide 8 to 9 hours of oxygen by purifying carbon dioxide. NASA has also provided various systems for quickly upgrading its suit or adding different modules and accessories.
