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February 5, 2026<\/p>\n
4 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n NASA\u2019s next space suit for Artemis has out-of-this-world mobility<\/p>\n Astronauts are flying to the moon for the first time since 1972, and scientists are preparing specialized space suits for the next milestone\u2014landing there<\/p>\n By K. R. Callaway edited by Lee Billings<\/span><\/p>\n An AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) space suit for NASA\u2019s Artemis lunar landing missions, as seen during a press conference in Milan, Italy, on October 16, 2024.<\/p>\n MARCO BERTORELLO \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n Launching as early as March for a long-planned there-and-back lunar flyby, NASA\u2019s Artemis II mission will bring four astronauts closer to the moon than any humans have been in more than 50 years. Merely traveling so far from Earth is a feat all its own, but the mission is in some ways already overshadowed by its planned follow-up, Artemis III, which is meant to take crew members to the moon\u2019s surface to kick off a new, 21st-century era of lunar science and exploration. Of the many obstacles to overcome before any Artemis astronauts begin moonwalking, perhaps the most simple yet significant is figuring out what to wear.<\/p>\n A space suit isn\u2019t so much an outfit as an anthropomorphic spacecraft. One designed for lunar surface operations must protect astronauts from perilous cosmic radiation, extreme temperatures, lung-clogging moon dust and the harsh vacuum of space. It must also carry its own supply of air, as well as water for cooling (and the occasional sip), while also having room for carrying equipment astronauts might need while in orbit or exploring other worlds. Designing a suit that meets all these needs without significantly limiting movement and functionality is an extremely difficult task. But the arduous effort may be essential for achieving longer stays in deep space\u2014as well as building the lunar space station and surface outposts envisioned for future Artemis missions.<\/p>\n Axiom Space, a U.S.-based space infrastructure company, has been developing a space suit for the Artemis III mission since 2022. In 2024 the company unveiled its official design for the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU); tests of the suit are ongoing. The bulky white suit looks, in many ways, very similar to previous generations of NASA space suits. But beneath the surface, new technology promises Artemis astronauts mobility on the moon that their Apollo-era forebears could only dream about.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really pushing the limits of material science,\u201d says Paul Spana, a curator and director of collections at the Space Center Houston museum. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a lot of new things introduced for the new suit that will be used for moonwalking on Artemis III.\u201d<\/p>\n Like the original Apollo space suits, the AxEMU has been built with the moon\u2019s unique conditions in mind. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin has described the landscape of that mission\u2019s near-equatorial exploration site as one of \u201cmagnificent desolation,\u201d with a nonexistent atmosphere, dust all around and temperatures that swing between hotter and colder than anyone could experience\u2014or endure\u2014on Earth. Around the moon\u2019s south pole, where Artemis astronauts will be headed, conditions the new suit must withstand could be even more extreme.<\/p>\n \u201cThis region presents unique challenges including steeper terrain, extreme temperatures and prolonged periods of light and darkness\u2014conditions far harsher than those faced by Apollo astronauts at the lunar equator,\u201d says Victoria Ugalde, a NASA spokesperson. \u201cThe space suit will also need to function across different landers, rovers and spacecraft.\u201d<\/p>\n To prepare for this desolation, the new suit has robust temperature regulation and is scratch-resistant to reduce damage from jagged rocks and abrasive dust. The biggest change, though, is in its flexibility. Whereas Apollo space suits were akin to wearing an inflated balloon that greatly hindered motion, the AxEMU is designed with flexible joints that give astronauts mobility to kneel, jog or even do the splits. Besides allowing space-suit-clad astronauts to fit within multiple different vehicles, the AxEMU\u2019s enhanced range of motion should also make working on the lunar surface easier.<\/p>\n The new suit\u2019s unique joints are shaping up to be a major advancement over previous space suits, but the AxEMU\u2019s relatively high weight is still a cause for concern. Axiom Space has not revealed the exact weight of its new suit, but it is more than that of previous space suits, including the Apollo suits, which weighed nearly 200 pounds on Earth.<\/p>\n Even under the low gravity of the moon, wearing several hundred pounds still feels heavy and could even cause injuries, NASA astronaut and doctor Mike Barratt told Ars Technica\u2014especially because astronauts are likely to also be toting tools and equipment during lengthy surface operations. Experts say the suit\u2019s added weight is not ideal.<\/p>\n \u201cWeight is always a key consideration in space suit design,\u201d NASA\u2019s Ugalde says, but she adds that the agency maintains \u201cextremely high confidence\u201d that astronauts will be able to perform mission-necessary tasks when it comes time to don their suits and set foot on the moon. Then, when the Artemis III astronauts return, they will bring with them lessons about how the suit performs in situ, helping to bring forth an even more refined future generation of space suits.<\/p>\n \u201cThese lessons will shape future Artemis missions, expanding operating ranges and enhancing crew capabilities,\u201d Ugalde says. \u201cEvery step builds toward NASA\u2019s goal of a sustained human presence on the moon as a stepping stone to Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. 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I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 5, 2026 4 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm NASA\u2019s next space suit for Artemis has out-of-this-world mobility Astronauts are flying to the moon for the first time since 1972, and scientists are preparing specialized space suits for the next milestone\u2014landing there By K. R. Callaway edited by Lee Billings An AxEMU (Axiom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[7387,875,1883,22855,1101,7388],"class_list":{"0":"post-43817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-artemis","9":"tag-mobility","10":"tag-nasas","11":"tag-outofthisworld","12":"tag-space","13":"tag-suit"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
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