Axiom Space won a NASA contract to develop Artemis spacesuits for the Artemis III lunar mission. The $228.5 million NASA contract gives Houston-based Axiom Space the task of designing and building the next-gen suits specifically for the job of moonwalking.
The Artemis program involves human lunar spaceflight missions, with Artemis III being the mission that will see the first woman and person of color to set foot on the Moon. Spacesuits are an integral part of the program, and Axiom Space beat out one other potential spacesuit vendor to secure the contract.
The contract called for the spacesuits to have support systems and allow for use on the lunar surface, where astronauts must move around freely to work and conduct scientific experiments, including geological surveying. Current designs provide increased flexibility and specialized tools meant to accommodate the widest range of crew members to date. Included in the design are life support systems, avionics, and pressure garments.
As a NASA partner, Axiom is responsible for the design, development, qualification, certification, and production of the EVA suits and the support equipment that goes along with them, and will provide xEVA systems training and real-time operations support to NASA. NASA will carry out astronaut training, mission planning, and approval of all the systems that go into the spacesuits.
“Our modernized, evolvable spacesuits will enable rapid upgrades to implement better, safer technologies over time, ensuring our astronauts are always equipped with high performing, robust equipment.” said Axiom Space CEO & President Michael Suffredini.
Axiom Space has partnered with several industry leaders for this contract. Axiom’s mission to be the premier provider of human spaceflight and to develop human spaceflight infrastructure is opening new markets in LEO and beyond.
