Astronauts will return to the surface of the Moon in white suits, as they have done for more than 50 years, but more flexible, elegant and resistant to the harsh environment of the Earth’s natural satellite. Although the prototype presented is black, the suit that the astronauts will wear on their return to the Moon will be white.
A prototype of the suits was presented this Wednesday in Houston, United States, by the North American aerospace company Axiom Space, with which the North American space agency (NASA) contracted the service for 228.5 million dollars (216.6 million euros). ). .
NASA hopes to put astronauts back on the surface of the Moon in 2025, the first women and the first black men, under the Artemis III mission.
Only the United States took astronauts to the lunar soil, 12 in total, between 1969 and 1972, during the Apollo program.
As it has been for more than 50 years, moonwalk suits will be white so they can reflect heat and keep astronauts cool.
The helmet will have an array of lights and a high-definition video camera, while the life support system, where oxygen is stored, will, as before, be located on the astronauts’ backs.
Axiom Space, which organizes flights to the Earth-orbiting International Space Station, hopes to have new versions in the summer (but not yet the final version) of the model presented today for NASA training purposes.
During the presentation, a company employee dressed in a dark suit, crouched and twisted at the waist to demonstrate his flexibility.
Despite planned improvements to moonwalking suits, astronauts will still have to wear diapers to urinate or defecate.
Source: TSF
