NASA is “committed” to landing the first woman and the “next man” on the moon by 2024 as part of the Artemis program (next stop Mars!). And as part of that program, unveiled two new spacesuits.
Dustin Gohmert, Orion Crew Survival Systems Project Manager at NASAs Johnson Space Center, poses for a portrait while wearing the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) suit, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The Orion suit is designed for a custom fit and incorporates safety technology and mobility features that will help protect astronauts on launch day, in emergency situations, high-risk parts of missions near the Moon, and during the high-speed return to Earth. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The orange suit is the Orion Crew Survival System suit, also commonly called a flight suit or a launch and entry suit. New features include a helmet that comes in more than one size, and suits that are custom fit. The color is intended to make astronauts easy to spot if they end up in the ocean, and the suit itself includes a “suite of survival gear”:
Even though it’s primarily designed for launch and reentry, the Orion suit can keep astronauts alive if Orion were to lose cabin pressure during the journey out to the Moon, while adjusting orbits in Gateway, or on the way back home. Astronauts could survive inside the suit for up to six days as they make their way back to Earth. The suits are also equipped with a suite of survival gear in the event they have to exit Orion after splashdown before recovery personnel arrive. Each suit will carry its own life preserver that contains a personal locator beacon, a rescue knife, and a signaling kit with a mirror, strobe light, flashlight, whistle, and light sticks.
A ground prototype of NASAs new Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) is seen Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The xEMU suit improves on the suits previous worn on the Moon during the Apollo era and those currently in use for spacewalks outside the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The white suit is the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit or xEMU. The xEMU provides dramatically superior range of movement to the suits worn on previous missions:
You can learn more about the Artemis Program at the official site and see a bit more of the suits in action below:
