What will the new moon spacesuit look like?

The upstart wins the contract and its timeline

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The big moon rocket is still on the ground. This time the problem is not a hydrogen leak. It’s the weather that has delayed the Artemis 1 mission. With a tropical storm approaching, NASA decided to stand down from Tuesday’s planned launch and may take the rocket back to the assembly building.

(Update: NASA has decided to roll Artemis 1 back to the VAB)

This is an unmanned test mission to prove the capsule can fly to the moon and back and that its heat shield will protect the spacecraft on the fastest reentry ever for a human-rated vehicle.

NASA's Aretmis 1 on the launch pad. It may be rolled back to the assembly building to protect it from high winds. (Credit: NASA)

A lot still has to be accomplished before the US puts the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the moon. One of the big challenges is a new spacesuit. That challenge now belongs to a relatively new space company that recently won the $230 million contract to build the moonsuit called the xEVAS.

AXIOM SPACE WINS

Axiom Space has already sent the first PAM (Private Astronaut Mission) to the International Space Station. The company has big plans, including building a private space station.

Artist rendering of Axiom's planned private space station. (Credit: Axiom)

“It certainly feels good to win,” said Mark Greeley, the EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) Manager for Axiom Space. “It's hard to contain our excitement but we're also cautiously optimistic about how tight the schedule is and all the work that we have in front of us,” he added. Greeley’s team has just 32 months to deliver this spacesuit. Axiom will own the suits and provide services to NASA. xEVAS is the acronym for Extra Vehicular Services. I asked NASA for details about the awarding of the contract. The agency said the Axiom proposal offered the best value for taxpayers.

The only image Axion has released so far for its xEVAS spacesuit for the moon. (Credit: Axiom)

TWO SUITS NEEDED

There are two contractor groups competing for the two types of EVA suits that NASA needs. There will be a suit for walking on the moon, and a second suit for spacewalks outside the ISS or other orbiting habitats. Axiom has been planning to build its own spacewalking suit to use on its private space station. The surprise is Axiom beat out the legacy maker of moonwalking suits, the group led by Collins Aerospace includes ILC Dover, which built the Apollo suits.

Axiom hopes to get that second contract too. The company believes it has a good chance because it bid a “single architecture” for both suits. “You add a few components, take a few components off, you can either do an EVA in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) or you can do an EVA on the moon,” Greeley said.

ILC Dover prototype spacesuits. (Credit: ILC Dover)

Before Axion was chosen, I talked to David Gaziosi of ILC Dover, which still hopes to stay in the game with that second contract. “Clearly NASA is trying to spur the commercial space industry. And in giving two of these awards, but it is yet to be seen on which one or both that we're working on,” he told me. A NASA decision on the second contract is expected in the coming weeks.

xEMU SET THE STAGE

Both team’s bids were based on progress NASA made in-house over the past several years. Axiom’s Greeley says NASA has completed more than 90% of the work for the new spacesuits with its xEMU program. “There are a few areas where solutions still have to be realized,” he said. The suit will fit both male and female astronauts. The requirement was to fit the 90th percentile of astronauts.

NASA promotional video as it prepared to call for contracts from private companies to build the new xEVAS spacesuit. (Credit: NASA)

Because the contract competition is still on, Axiom is not releasing photos or renderings of its suit. Greeley tells me the outside will look a lot like the Apollo suits, but the changes inside will be dramatic.

Since NASA plans to go to the Moon’s south pole the suits will have to protect astronauts from much colder temperatures than the Apollo suits had to contend with. Mobility and agility will be much improved. If an astronaut falls there will be protection from penetration of the suit. The new suit will also allow for longer moonwalks farther away from the vehicle. There are systems to try and reduce moon dust clinging to the suit. Dust was a big concern of the Apollo astronauts.

NASA's prototype of a rear-entry xEMU spacesuit. (Credit: NASA)

One of the biggest changes is that rather than entering the suit from the lower torso, there is a door on the back of the suit. “It mitigates the possibility of shoulder injury trying to push yourself up through the hard upper torso. And NASA did a number of studies on this design that really supported it as a much better feature for crew,” Greeley said.

Axiom Space's Mark Greeley discusses the contract to build the xEVAS suit for walking on the moon. Full version here.

PLUG AND PLAY REPAIR

NASA likes to say, “we are going back to the Moon to stay.” That means a moon base. So the spacesuits will need to be robust and repairable by the astronauts. “You can take things on or take things off, put things on- it's literally plug and play and everything has dual redundancy. So the design is really easy to do replacements,” Greeley explained.

Greeley’s team is working against the clock. Their spacesuit is planned to be delivered to NASA in 32 months and on the moon in 38 months. Greeley says Axiom feels the time constraints and will hang a countdown clock in their facility very soon.

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(Cover image credit: Axiom Space)