Space Suit

2024 has been a year in space that has seen successes, failures, a clutch of firsts, and some goodbyes – not to mention a long-distance probe rescue, spacesuits on the catwalk, and a couple of cosmic oddities. Let's have a look back.

In one of the strangest partnerships we've come across, Axiom Space and Prada (yes, that Prada) have teamed up to produce the space suits NASA astronauts will wear when they return to the Moon as part of the space agency's Artemis program.

China is planning to put people on the Moon around 2030 and is showing off the new space suits they'll be wearing. At a media event, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) had two astronauts put the suits through their paces for the cameras.

The world's first private spacewalk has been completed. On September 12, 2024 at 7:58 am EDT, two of the four-person crew of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Resilience returned after a 106-minute tethered EVA 732 km (455 miles) above the Earth.

In the not-too-distant future, astronauts could be drinking water harvested from their own urine, courtesy of a Dune-inspired system integrated into their spacesuit. If nothing else, it should certainly beat just peeing into a diaper.

It's a genuine joy watching Apollo-era astronauts bounce around on the lunar surface, and it's hysterically funny watching them fall over and struggle to get back up in their spacesuits. MIT wishes to rob us of this hilarity for future missions.

Bridging fashion and functionality, SpaceX has revealed what its astronauts will be wearing on the first-ever private spacewalk in 2024. In a new video, the company details the features of the suit that will be space-tested on the Polaris Dawn mission.

NASA's next Moon landing may have been put back a year, but that hasn't stopped Axiom from showing off the practical version of its Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU). Better known as a space suit, it will protect next-gen Moonwalkers.

2023 turned out to be a busy year in space and the general vicinity. New Atlas looks back at everything from rocket launches and cosmic tsunamis to asteroid samples and the latest astronaut fashions.

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.