NASA’s new spacesuits may not be ready for the 2028 moon landing.
This is the warning issued by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) in a report published Monday, stating that the suits developed by Axiom Space may not be ready before 2031, if the Houston-based company experiences the typical delays in spacesuit development seen in the past, reports Bloomberg.
In 2022, the U.S. space agency awarded Axiom Space a contract to develop spacesuits for the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon.
On October 4, 2023, the American private aerospace company announced a partnership with Prada, the Italian luxury fashion house, on the spacesuits that Axiom is developing for use in Artemis missions, starting with Artemis III, originally scheduled for 2025. Since then, NASA has revised the Artemis program, with the latest revision last February when the agency postponed the astronauts’ return to the Moon: the Artemis III mission will no longer perform a moon landing in 2027 but will be a demonstration mission in low Earth orbit. The first lunar landing is now planned with Artemis IV in 2028. The decision, announced by administrator Jared Isaacman, follows technical issues encountered during Artemis II mission tests and also includes a higher launch frequency and a more standardized configuration of the SLS rocket to reduce risks.
However, now the moon landing planned for 2028 could be delayed due to a lack of spacesuits.
All the details.
CONTRACTS AWARDED TO AXIOM SPACE AND COLLINS AEROSPACE
As Scientific American recalls, NASA’s current spacesuits for spacewalks on the International Space Station (ISS) were designed more than half a century ago and have not received significant updates for at least 20 years. The Apollo-era lunar suits used by NASA are unsuitable for use.
Four years ago, NASA awarded contracts to Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace for the supply of next-generation spacesuits intended for Artemis lunar missions and ISS operations. However, in 2024, NASA and Collins agreed to revoke the work orders to the company, citing the inability to meet the demonstration schedule for the ISS, leaving only one spacesuit supplier.
SPACESUITS DELAYED
According to the Office of Inspector General’s report, the 2028 date for NASA astronauts’ moon landing is threatened by delays in spacesuit development. The OIG states that demonstrations of the lunar and microgravity spacesuits may not occur before 2031. The report indicates that, based on historical comparisons, developing a spacesuit can take nearly nine years from contract signing to the time it is ready for space demonstrations.
AXIOM SPACE’S POSITION
In a statement sent via email, Axiom said the report accurately describes the complexity of developing a new spacesuit and clarified that it is still working to resolve issues that emerged during a preliminary project review.
The report “documents the significant progress made by our team,” Axiom said, adding that “our goal remains to deliver a safe and high-performing spacesuit that will enable American astronauts to return to the lunar surface and explore it in 2028.”
But time is running out: NASA’s current Artemis schedule calls for lunar spacesuits to be ready by 2028.
