(ReliableNews.org) – In the 1960s and 1970s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted the Apollo Missions, which included landing the first humans on the moon. Famous images of the astronauts on Apollo 11, launched from Cape Kennedy in 1969, showed Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin wearing white puffy spacesuits with large white helmets, mirrored visors, and a large backpack.
Now, NASA is in the middle of another lunar mission — Artemis, named for Apollo’s twin. On March 15, the administration announced the astronauts involved in the next adventure into space would sport the next generation of spacesuits designed by a Texas-based company.
The New Look
The first prototype of the new spacesuits are charcoal gray with orange and blue accents. The Texas company, Axiom, made the sleek suits more flexible than the older ones, with a greater range of motion for both male and female wearers. The spacesuits will incorporate pressure garments, avionics, and life-support systems. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the new suits will allow for “more people to explore and conduct science” on the Earth’s moon than ever before in history.
The Guardian reported that although the prototype is a dark color, the company said the suits actually worn during Artemis III will be white because the team will be traveling to the lunar south pole. White is the best color to reflect the light from the sun and keep the astronauts safe from the intense heat.
Details About the Missions
The Artemis missions are a collaboration between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Artemis I launched on November 16, 2022, traveled 1.4 million miles, and splashed down on Earth on December 11, 2022. The unmanned mission for the first flight in the series of launches was to test the Orion spacecraft and its systems’ capabilities during spaceflight, re-entry, splashdown, and recovery — setting the stage for Artemis II.
Artemis II will be a manned mission with four astronauts on board, who will fly around the moon, testing NASA’s foundational capabilities for deep space exploration with humans using the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System. The crew will spend about 10 days in flight and build on what NASA learned during the first launch, paving the way for Artemis III.
During the Artemis III mission, which is planned for 2025, astronauts will likely wear the final version of the new suits when landing on the moon’s surface. It will be the first time astronauts have landed on and explored near the south pole of the moon. The Artemis mission’s overall objective is to establish a lunar base camp to use as a stepping stone for future humans to explore Mars.
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