Space Suit

NASA has awarded service contracts worth up to US$3.5 billion through 2034 to Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to provide new space suits to the agency and private firms, for use on the International Space Station (ISS) and on the Moon.

Texas A&M engineers led by Ana Diaz Artiles are developing soft robotic technology that could make future "SmartSuit" space suits for planetary exploration more safe, comfortable, and energy efficient for astronauts.

Commercial space travel is set to go to the next level. Polaris Project is planning three new private space missions that will include the first private spacewalk and a flight aboard SpaceX's Starship spacecraft.

The 2021 auction market was quite extraordinary, with unprecedented levels of participation and sales. From cars to colt revolvers to multi-million-dollar NFTs, this sweeping look at the highlights is full of fascinating tales and astonishing prices.

A very prominent space suit “accessory” worn on the Moon by the last Apollo moonwalker – Commander Gene Cernan – is being auctioned on the internet with bids closing later this week, and it looks like records will be broken.

Last week was a big week in space exploration, with the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and some significant sales of space memorabilia, including US$746,000 for an Apollo Guidance Computer (the brain behind the Lunar landing).

ESA is working on ways to make sharing unwashed underwear used in spacesuits a bit less horrible. The Austrian Space Forum will work with the Vienna Textile Lab to test textiles with improved anti-bacterial properties for suits used on long missions.

An ESA initiative is researching new materials for spacesuits and other equipment that are better able to withstand the destructive effects of lunar dust, which is made of razor-sharp and abrasive particles that cling to everything.

Blasting spacesuits with a beam of electrons could cause jagged, abrasive particles of moon dust to leap right off them. Finding a way to deal with the sharp particles is a priority for NASA as the agency seeks to return to the Moon.

When NASA’s Perseverance rover touches down on Mars it will carry with it the first ever spacesuit samples to land on the Red Planet. The samples will be exposed to the high-radiation environment to test the durability of future spacesuits.

The value of movie memorabilia is invariably linked to the importance of the film it comes from. This makes the upcoming auction of the space suit used in Kubrick's masterpiece potentially one of the science fiction auctions of the year.

ESA has taken the wraps off its concept for the spacesuit glove of the future. The mockup glove designed by the Comex company and designer Agatha Medioni incorporates new gadgets to help astronauts with their work.