Experts to conduct critical tests of spacesuits in which people will land on Moon in 2026

The American company Axiom Space plans to conduct critical tests of spacesuits in which participants in NASA's Artemis III mission, planned for 2026, will fly to and land on the Moon.

As reported on the official website of Axiom Space, back in 2023 the company presented a prototype of the protective suit Axiom Extravehicle Mobility Unit (AxEMU), in which you can not only land on the Moon, but also carry out work in outer space. A large number of industry organizations participated in the development of AxEMU, including firms such as KBR, Air-Lock, Arrow Science and Technology, David Clark Company, Paragon Space Development Corporation and others.

AxEMU is expected to be more flexible than older spacesuits used during the 1960s and 1970s Apollo missions. At the same time, the suit should provide increased protection from the cold, because as part of Artemis III, astronauts will land near the south pole of the Moon, where there may be ice deposits. According to the developers, an astronaut wearing this suit will be able to stay in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon for 2 hours or more.

Over the next two years, Axiom Space plans to test AxEMU in vacuum chambers, simulating the effects of airless space. The suit will also undergo underwater tests at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, where astronauts train before spacewalks.

Note that the prototype of the spacesuit, shown last year, was made in blue, black and orange - Axiom’s signature colors. But the actual suits that astronauts will wear to the Moon will have a white coating that reflects heat and protects against extreme temperatures and solar radiation.