NASA selected Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace in 2022 to create the next-generation spacesuits that will ultimately replace the dated equipment astronauts are still wearing today. The space agency has now extended their current contracts and is awarding them $5 million each to create brand-new spacesuits that were not part of the initial orders they got.
For spacewalks outside the International Space Station, NASA has bought a spacesuit from Axiom Space that is intended for use in low earth orbit. Axiom's initial contract was for a spacewalking apparatus that the Artemis III astronauts will use when they touch down on the moon. In March, Axiom showed a prototype for its initial purchase, displaying a suit with joints that permit users to
A spacesuit for usage on the moon's surface has also been ordered from Collins Aerospace. Prior to the ISS, the business had a contract to create a spacewalking suit. In other words, the new orders that each company has gotten are identical to their old ones. At the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Lara Kearney is the manager of the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program.
As NASA opens the way for deep space exploration and the commercialization of low Earth orbit, these task orders set the agency up for success should additional capabilities prove beneficial or necessary to its missions. We will increase redundancy, increase future capabilities, and increase investment in the space industry using this competitive strategy.
A key component of the advancement of space technology is redundancy. In this situation, spacesuits made for the same purpose by two distinct companies might guarantee that astronauts will have a backup suit in case the first one malfunctions for any reason. The new task orders, though, are for the businesses' initial "design modification work"—basically, they are altering their original suits for a new purpose—and NASA wants to see them first before committing to them.