The large, puffy white jumpsuits that Neil Armstrong and his colleagues wore on their Apollo program half a century ago have become archaic. Modern astronaut clothing requires body-contouring and flattering silhouettes for 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 go to the moon in the next few years, according to Reuters.
Artemis program
The latest moon suit design was shown at Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA, at an event for media and students hosted by Texas-based Axiom Space, which was commissioned by NASA to make the suits for astronauts participating in the Apollo moon successor program Artemis.
In December, the Artemis 1 mission, the first launch of NASA’s powerful new rocket and newly built Orion spacecraft, ended successfully on an uncrewed test flight around the moon and back.
The four astronauts
To that intend NASA And the Canadian Space Agency announced on April 3 the four astronauts selected for the Artemis 2 mission, which will launch soon, perhaps next year, and will also be a mission to orbit the moon and then return to Earth.
If successful, that flight would pave the way for the Artemis 3 mission, which will land astronauts on the lunar surface and be the first-ever trip to its south pole, and is scheduled to launch later this decade. She will also be the first to send a woman to walk on the moon.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the new astronaut suits “will provide opportunities for more people to explore and conduct scientific studies on the lunar surface than ever before.”
Modern and streamlined
It is noteworthy that the new suits that will be worn by the astronauts of the Artemis mission will look very different from the previous thick suits.
The new suits are modern, more streamlined and more flexible than those worn by the astronauts in the Apollo missions, and allow more room for movement and vary in size.
