Space Suit

On the cosmic fashion front, Axiom Space is teaming up with the Italian luxury apparel house Prada to create the high-tech spacesuits that NASA astronauts will wear when they return to the Moon in 2025 as part of the Artemis program.

NASA has awarded a Space Act Agreement to Special Aerospace Services to develop a commercial version of the space agency's Autonomous Maneuvering Unit (AMU) astronaut jetpack for use outside of privately owned orbital outposts.

Last year, we heard how NASA had awarded a service contract to Axiom Space for the design and production of the agency's Artemis III spacesuit. NASA and Axiom have now unveiled a prototype of the outfit.

If you've ever been to the Moon (and who hasn't?), then you'll know that the dust which covers its surface can damage spacesuits. According to a new study, a spray of liquid nitrogen may offer the best method of getting the stuff off.

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.

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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.