NASA has teamed up with Axiom Space to develop advanced spacesuits for astronauts who will travel near the lunar south pole as part of the Artemis III mission. Axiom’s AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) spacesuit offers the latest technology, enhanced mobility and added protection from lunar hazards.
NASA purchased Axiom Space’s moonwalking services under a commercial services contract and encouraged the company to sign up additional commercial customers for its services.
The AxEMU builds on prototype developments by NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), which developed spacesuits for various destinations. Axiom Space will be responsible for the design, development, qualification, certification and production of flight training suits and support equipment, including tools, to enable the Artemis III mission.
“NASA’s partnership with Axiom is critical to landing astronauts on the moon and continuing American leadership in space. Building on NASA’s years of research and expertise, Axiom’s next-generation spacesuits will not only enable the first woman to walk on the moon, but they will also open opportunities for more people to explore and conduct science on the moon than ever before,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson.
Both Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace will compete for future spacewalking and moonwalking services task orders.
“NASA is leading the way in enabling a growing space economy by leveraging industry capabilities and NASA’s expertise to provide moonwalking services as safely, effectively, and efficiently as possible,” said Lara Kearney, manager of NASA’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility programme.
