NASA
The seven men wearing spacesuits in this portrait made up the first group of astronauts announced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They were selected in April of 1959 for the Mercury Program. In the front row, from left, are Walter M. Schirra Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter. Standing in the back row, from left, are Alan B. Shepard Jr., Virgil I. Grissom and L. Gordon Cooper Jr.
NASA
Astronauts John W. Young (in front), command pilot, and Michael Collins, pilot, walk up the ramp at Pad 19 after arriving from the Launch Complex 16 suiting trailer during the prelaunch countdown for the Gemini-10 mission. Moments later, they entered the elevator that took them to the white room, where they could board the waiting spacecraft. Liftoff occurred at 5:20 p.m. ET on July 18, 1966.
NASA
Lunar module pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., better known as Buzz Aldrin, walks on the surface of the moon near the leg of the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" during the extravehicular activity (EVA) portion of the Apollo 11 mission. Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70 mm lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit.
NASA
Space Shuttle prime and backup astronaut crews prepare to be briefed on the use of the emergency pad escape system, known as the "slidewire," in this photo from January 6, 1981. From left to right are backup astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly, and primary crew commander John Young. The slidewire system provided a quick and sure escape from the upper pad platforms in case of a serious emergency.
NASA
In this photo captured in February 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless II uses his hands to control his movement above Earth — and just few meters away from the Challenger — during the first-ever untethered extravehicular activity (EVA). Fellow crew members aboard the Challenger used a 70 mm camera to expose this frame through windows on the flight deck. McCandless was joined by Robert L. Stewart, one of two other mission specialists for this flight, on two sessions of EVA.
NASA
The astronaut crew members for NASA's STS-34 mission prepare to participate in emergency egress training at the shuttle landing facility while wearing their partially pressurized flight suits with attached cooling packs. This photo from September 13, 1989, features, from left, astronauts Michael J. McCulley, pilot; mission specialists Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Ellen S. Baker and Shannon W. Lucid; and Donald E. Williams, mission commander.
NASA
NASA astronaut Michael Fincke (left), Expedition 18 commander; and cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov, flight engineer, attired in Russian Sokol flight suits, pose in the Unity node of the International Space Station in this photo from March 26, 2009.
Kim Shiflett/NASA
Astronauts participate in NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 dry dress rehearsal in the suit room inside Kennedy Space Center's Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on April 20, 2022. A team of SpaceX suit technicians assisted crew members as they put on their custom-fitted spacesuits and checked the suits for leaks. Pictured, from left, are Jessica Watkins, mission specialist; Bob Hines, pilot; Kjell Lindgren, commander; and Samantha Cristoforetti, mission specialist.
Boeing
NASA astronaut Eric Boe wears Boeing's new spacesuit designed for astronauts who will fly on the CST-100 Starliner. The suit is lighter and more flexible than previous spacesuits but retains the ability to pressurize in an emergency. Astronauts will wear the suit throughout the launch and ascent into orbit, as well as on the way back to Earth.
Joel Kowsky/NASA
Dustin Gohmert, Orion crew survival systems project manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center, poses for a portrait while wearing the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) suit on October 15, 2019, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The suit is designed for a custom fit and incorporates safety technology and mobility features that will help protect astronauts while they're aboard the Orion spacecraft.
Joel Kowsky/UPI/Shutterstock
Kristine Davis, a spacesuit engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center, wears a ground prototype of NASA's Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) during a demonstration on October 15, 2019, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The xEMU was designed to improve on the suits previously worn on the moon during the Apollo era and those currently in use for spacewalks outside the International Space Station.
Courtesy Axiom
The AxEMU Spacesuit, developed by Axiom Space, builds on the technology NASA incorporated into its xEMU prototype. The AxEMU, shown here with a black cover, were unveiled during an event on March 15, 2023. The suits worn by astronauts during the Artemis III mission will be white.

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NASA and Texas-based company Axiom Space have revealed a new spacesuit design — and it could be these very suits that are eventually worn by the first woman and person of color to walk on the moon.

The spacesuits unveiled by Axiom Space at Space Center Houston on Wednesday are prototypes, though the company says it will be delivering spacesuits that can be used for astronaut training by late summer. The company won a contract last year to produce the suits for NASA.

The new design, which looked black with blue and orange detailing for the unveiling, appeared to take on a vastly different aesthetic than the puffy white suits worn by moonwalkers of the 20th century. However, Axiom Space noted in a news release that its suits are covered in an extra layer — bearing the company’s colors and logo — for display purposes.

Courtesy Axiom
An image of the AxEMU spacesuit Axiom Space unveiled Wednesday.

The actual spacesuits worn by astronauts must be white “to reflect heat and protect astronauts from extreme high temperatures,” according to the release.

“We have not had a new suit since the suits that we designed for the space shuttle and those suits are currently in use on the space station,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “So for 40 years, we’ve been using the same suit based on that technology. And now today, Axiom is going to innovate. We’re going to provide (access to) all of our facilities and we will be working together to make sure that we have a safe suit that performs and everything that our astronauts use for doing surface operations.”

The suits will serve a crucial role in NASA’s Artemis program, which seeks to return astronauts to the lunar surface later this decade on a mission dubbed Artemis III. After astronauts land at the lunar south pole, the spacesuits will serve as mobile life support, allowing them to explore the lunar terrain on foot.

“NASA’s partnership with Axiom is critical to landing astronauts on the Moon and continuing American leadership in space,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson in a statement. “Building on NASA’s years of research and expertise, Axiom’s next generation spacesuits will not only enable the first woman to walk on the Moon, but they will also open opportunities for more people to explore and conduct science on the Moon than ever before. Our partnership is investing in America, supporting America’s workers, and demonstrating another example of America’s technical ingenuity that will position NASA and the commercial space sector to compete — and win — in the 21st century.”

Axiom Space
Axiom Space, which holds the contract to develop spacesuits for NASA's Artemis Program, included its logo and company colors on a top cover over the spacesuits.

The design of the spacesuits borrows from NASA’s own research. The space agency had previously unveiled a prototype design for lunar spacesuits in 2019, called xEMU.

“Leveraging NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) spacesuit design, the Axiom Space spacesuits are built to provide increased flexibility, greater protection to withstand the harsh environment and specialized tools to accomplish exploration needs and expand scientific opportunities,” the company said in a news release. “Using innovative technologies, the new spacesuit will enable exploration of more of the lunar surface than ever before.”

The new suit allows for more range of motion and flexibility and its design can accommodate at least 90% of the US male and female population, according to NASA. Axiom Space will develop, certify and produce the spacesuits and the company will “test the suit in a spacelike environment prior to the mission.”

Features of the suit include an HD video camera and a light band mounted to the visor of the helmet. The light band will afford astronauts better visibility as they work in the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole or go on spacewalks, said Russel Ralston, deputy program manager at Axiom Space.

A hatch with two hinges located on the back of the suit allows astronauts to enter the spacesuit feet first, then shimmy into it, and a backpack provides the portable life support system. The boots have been reinforced with extra insulation to keep the astronauts’ feet warm as they work in icy regions of the moon that never see sunlight.

“This is this is a great example of what innovation can do,” said Peggy Whitson, retired NASA astronaut and current Axiom astronaut. “This is going to be such a much more flexible suit and the range of motion is really going to improve the astronauts’ ability to do all those tasks that they’re going to do while they’re out exploring on the lunar surface and eventually on Mars.”

Whitson, who holds the record among Americans and women for spending the most time in space — a total of 665 days — is the director of human spaceflight at Axiom and is slated to launch on Axiom’s Ax-2 to the International Space Station in May.

Developing new spacesuits capable of keeping astronauts alive on the moon has been a years-long effort at NASA. At one point in 2021, the space agency’s inspector general, Paul Martin, warned that significant delays in bringing new spacesuits to fruition would quash NASA’s goal of getting humans to the moon by 2024. The space agency has already delayed the crewed lunar landing to no earlier than 2025.

Martin concluded at the time that the suits were “years away from completion” and would cost more than $1 billion dollars.

Then, NASA announced that it would allow the private sector to take over production of the spacesuits, and the space agency selected Axiom Space as the contractor in September 2022. The deal, referred to as NASA’s xEVAS contract, was valued at up to $3.5 billion.

“We’re carrying on NASA’s legacy by designing an advanced spacesuit that will allow astronauts to operate safely and effectively on the Moon,” said Axiom Space CEO Mike Suffredini, who previously worked at NASA for more than 30 years, in a statement. “Axiom Space’s Artemis III spacesuit will be ready to meet the complex challenges of the lunar south pole and help grow our understanding of the Moon in order to enable a long-term presence there.”

Suffredini served as NASA’s International Space Station Program Manager from 2005 to 2015.