NASA’s Artemis program promises to revolutionize deep space travel in ways that many never thought imaginable. One of the most significant things Artemis will involve in the foreseeable future is establishing a lunar-orbiting docking station called the Gateway that will serve as the hub between astronauts on Earth and astronauts in deep space. NASA will also put astronauts on the lunar surface again.
As we move into the new age of space exploration, you’d be right to assume that NASA wants to refresh the entire space travel experience. One of the ways NASA is doing that is by unveiling an entirely new line of space suits that will be used by astronauts as they travel to space in the Orion spacecraft and as they explore the lunar surface.
The first suit, called the Orion Crew Survival System, keeps the astronauts safe as they depart the Earth’s atmosphere and enter outer space. The second suit, called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), will be worn outside of the spacecraft and as astronauts explore the lunar surface. The latter can even be upgraded with life support systems when the time finally comes to explore the Martian surface.
These upgraded space suits are a significant departure from those classic beanbag suits that we always see astronauts using in outer space during spacewalks. These suits will be less poufy, feature interchangeable parts that can fit both men and women of various sizes, and offer more flexibility and maneuverability for improved movement on the lunar surface.
Related: SpaceX previews advanced new space suit design for Martian astronauts
It remains to be seen if astronauts will continue to use classic spacesuits on the International Space Station, or if those will be upgraded as well.
