Nasa to unveil new Artemis spacesuits for the Moon

Prototypes developed in partnership with Axiom Space will be revealed at Texas event

The Artemis programme aims to send the first woman, the first person of colour and the first astronaut from a country other than the US to the lunar surface. AFP

Nasa will unveil a new frontier in spacesuit design and will reveal prototypes for the Artemis III mission to the Moon in a March 15 event in Houston, Texas.

The agency contracted Axiom Space to develop the spacesuit that the first Artemis moonwalkers will wear.

“Our team at Axiom Space is honoured to be awarded this first task order to build the next-generation spacesuit,” Axiom Space chief executive Michael Suffredini said in a statement last year.

“We are excited to provide our expertise to meet Nasa's exploration needs.”

The Artemis programme aims to send the first woman, the first person of colour and the first astronaut from a country other than the US to the lunar surface.

Artemis will also be humanity’s first return to the Moon in more than 50 years, as well as the first manned mission to land near the lunar South Pole.

“Our modernised, evolvable spacesuits will enable rapid upgrades to implement better, safer technologies over time, ensuring our astronauts are always equipped with high-performing, robust equipment,” Mr Suffredini said.

The event will include a suit demonstration and a question and answer session.”

US President Joe Biden's budget proposal for 2024, revealed on Thursday, includes $27.2 billion for Nasa, which would allocate specific funds towards the Artemis mission, supporting the new lunar spacesuits.

Nasa officially branded the programme in 2019, with hopes of returning humans to the Moon by as early as 2024, but it has since shifted that deadline to 2025 at the earliest.

In November, the agency successfully launched an unmanned Orion capsule around the Moon, and plans to send the first Artemis astronauts around the Moon in November 2024.

Agencies contributed to this report