NASA chief Jim Bridenstine revealed the agency’s next-generation spacesuit for the Artemis program.
While still a prototype, the agency is confident that it will be ready for the Moon mission.
In terms of looks, the xEMU bears a close resemblance to the suits currently in use at the International Space Station. However, the new suit carries significant improvement in terms of comfort, fit, and mobility.
Watch to find out more of this exciting news below.
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Bridenstine also unveiled the Orion Crew Survival System, an orange flight suit meant to be worn by astronauts in the Orion spacecraft for launch and re-entry.
Apart from being a replacement for the space shuttle, Orion is so much more because it’s also meant to go to the Moon and other destinations in deep space.
The new Moon suit called the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) allows the wearer a customized fit no matter their size.
This is important because in March, what was supposed to be the first all-female spacewalk on the ISS had to be canceled because they were missing a suit that could fit astronaut Anne McClain.
During the unveiling ceremony at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC, the xEMU was worn by spacecraft engineer Kristine Davis of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston.
“To be clear, Kristine is wearing a suit that will fit all of our astronauts when we go to the Moon,” Bridenstine explained to the audience.
Spacecraft engineer Amy Ross added that the new suit allows more mobility in the shoulders which will allow them to reach overhead, something Apollo-era suits were unable to do.
One feature called the bearing will also allow for greater range of motion at the waist. Three additional bearings are located on the legs including a flexion-extension joint at the waist for more mobility from the waist down.
Davis showcased the new suit’s capabilities by performing circular motions with her arms, doing squats, and bending down to lift a rock from the stage.
“The mobility is one of the biggest things,” said NASA astronaut Kate Rubins. “If you need to pick up a rock, if you’re examining something, if you’re planting a scientific instrument, you need that upper torso mobility.”
Amy Ross further explained that the bearings would be protected by seals to shield them from the abrasive lunar dust. The Apollo missions found out that lunar dust managed to make its way into every nook and cranny and stick there. In addition, the suit will have fewer seams and use new material to help keep the dust out.
With a 100% oxygen environment, astronauts will not have to spend time “pre-breathing” to expel nitrogen from their bodies. Astronauts will also have around eight hours of air in the suit with an extra hour for emergencies.
Dustin Gohmert, a project manager at JSC, demonstrated the Orion Crew Survival System.
“This is the suit that gets us there and home safely,” he said. “It’s tailored to the human body, it’s also tailored to the seat [in the Orion crew module].”
The main purpose of the suit is to keep astronauts alive in the event of accidental depressurization where air pressure inside the spacecraft is lost while it’s in a near or total vacuum.
Gohmert explained: “We can take safe haven in this suit, we’ll seek refuge in here, we’ll keep the body at 8 psi (pound-force per square inch) for a certain period of time, then we’ll drop down to 4.3 psi and we can remain there for six days.”
“That’s no small feat to be able to live in a volume that’s only a couple of inches bigger than your body for six whole days.”
Bridenstine added: “This is, when necessary, a spacecraft.”
Replaced!