Axiom Space’s suit is getting ready for its orbital date.
The company announced this week that its space suit—which will be worn on spacewalks and the lunar surface—will get an in-space test next year. The only question for NASA to answer is whether it will be on Artemis III or on the ISS. But Axiom Space officials say they’re ready, no matter what NASA decides—and that the suit will ultimately need to be tested in both environments.
“From a production standpoint, we’re putting together the first qualification suit,” Michael López-Alegría, the company’s chief astronaut, told Payload. “That continues regardless of what they say.”
Made for space walking: The only difference between the space station and lunar versions of the suit is the boots, López-Alegría said.
- The lunar suit’s boots include thick insulation on the soles, to allow astronauts to walk on the very cold surface of the Moon.
- The station suit boots include pieces that can fit into slots on the ISS, to help astronauts maneuver during spacewalks, he said.
Fuel up: The company is partnering with Prada on the suit design, and Oakley on the sun visor. It’s also partnering with Gu Energy Labs, an energy gel company widely used by runners, to make sure astronauts can get some fuel during long-duration missions in the suit.
Stress test: While many parts of NASA’s Artemis architecture promote redundancy and competition by relying on more than one company, Axiom Space’s suits are a potential single point of failure in the mission to return people to the lunar surface. Being the only company building suits for NASA is a responsibility CEO Jonathan Cirtain said he feels deeply.
“This is really serious,” he said during a press conference. “We’re not in a competition with another private industry. We’re in competition with China.”
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