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Spacesuits for astronauts are being developed not only by NASA, but also by SpaceX and other private companies. Trends figured out what innovative “space suits” will be and when they will hit the market
In September 2022, NASA provided the American private company Axiom Space with $228,5 million to develop a spacesuit that will be used in the Artemis mission to land people on the moon. However, his device is still kept secret. Trends studied how NASA got away from trying to create its own modern spacesuit and what alternatives to Axiom Space exist.
NASA’s own attempts
In 2019, the US space agency revealed two suit options for the Artemis mission – an advanced spacesuit for spacewalks and the lunar surface, as well as a special autonomous suit for launch and landing, which will be used inside the spacecraft or lunar module.
The first OCSS (Orion Crew Survival System) suit was supposed to be used inside the Orion spacecraft during takeoff and landing. The second suit xEMU (Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit) is designed for spacewalks and to the lunar surface.
The heavy lunar spacesuit xEMU was developed taking into account the data and developments of the Russian NPP Zvezda. So, it used a solution with a back door through which an astronaut can get inside the spacesuit. The incomplete prototype weighed 50 kg. Special shoulder straps and a belt at the waist were needed to distribute a lot of weight between the hips and shoulders of the astronaut like a backpack. The suit had no protruding cables or zippers, and was designed with arm connectors at the shoulders for size adjustment.
The prototype was designed for eight hours of battery life, it had an improved system for removing carbon dioxide, and it could be used at temperatures from -157°C to +121°C. Engineers have demonstrated that it is possible to jump, walk, bend over, work with fingers. The suit also had radiation and lunar dust protection systems.
Then NASA promised to provide spacesuit manufacturing technology to other countries and private developers. The agency noted that the suit, given the modularity of its design, can be modified for various needs and missions.
In 2020, it was reported that the xEMU portable life support system will be manufactured using artificial intelligence technologies, and it will be an astro-backpack that controls power, communications, oxygen supply and temperature control of the suit.
However, in August 2021, NASA presented a report in which it said that it would not be possible to land astronauts on the moon in 2024 due to the unavailability of spacesuits. According to the plans, they were supposed to be ready for testing no later than March 31, 2023. Due to a reduction in development funding from $209 million to $150 million, a pandemic and technical problems, this deadline had to be shifted by 20 months. NASA said that the delivery of the suits could be delayed until January 2025, and they would not be ready for flight at all “until April 2025.”
In September 2021, the agency decided to turn to the private sector to build space suits more quickly. The project was named Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS). The suits must meet NASA specifications and consist of a material that repels regolith.
In just the past 14 years, NASA has launched several different programs to develop next-generation space suits. The agency spent a total of $420 million on them, but this work has not yielded tangible results.
To the Moon – with private developments
After concluding a 10-year agreement with NASA, Axiom Space will begin designing a spacesuit that will be used as part of the Artemis III program. It is assumed that during the mission, astronauts will land on the surface of the moon for the first time in 50 years. The landing of astronauts on the Earth’s satellite is expected no earlier than 2025, but due to numerous delays, it is likely to shift by several years.
The company, together with another private organization, Collins Aerospace, has already won NASA contracts for extra-vehicular activity research services (xEVAS). Now work on the suit will be included in this contract.
The Axiom suit is based on an earlier version of NASA’s xEMU. However, the developers claim that it will give astronauts more freedom of movement and will be equipped with specialized tools for studying the moon. The design of the xEVAS suits will also include a life support system, compression clothing and aviation electronics – navigation, control and communication systems. So far, the manufacturer has shown only a helmet and individual parts of the suit.
The solution from Axiom will also be more budgetary: its cost is 23% lower than government rates.
Axiom collaborates with companies such as KBR, Air-Lock, Arrow Science and Technology, David Clark Company, Paragon Space Development Corporation, Sophic Synergistics, and APT Research to develop the xEVAS suit. All of them have relevant experience, but NASA did not choose the development of these firms, as they did not provide a suitable suit pressurization system.
The requirements for lunar space suits are quite strict – unlike the suits of astronauts on the ISS, they must not only withstand extreme temperature changes, but also fight the Moon’s gravity and protect from lunar dust.
SpaceX suit for long-distance missions
SpaceX launched the Polaris Dawn program, during which it plans to take tourists into outer space several times and set a record for the highest flight altitude of the Crew Dragon ship. The program is funded by businessman Jared Isaacman. The next flight is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022. The crew will spend about five days in orbit.
During this period, space tourists will test spacesuits for EVA (extravehicular activity, EVA) of SpaceX’s own design. It is an improved version of the emergency rescue suit (IVA) in which the crew is inside the ship. SpaceX plans to make spacesuits for long missions, including space stations on the Moon and Mars.
The crew uses ultrasound to detect and monitor the severity of the gas embolism. It leads to decompression sickness that astronauts suffer from. The disease is characterized by the formation of gas bubbles in the blood of a person with a rapid decrease in environmental pressure.
Also, the Crew Dragon crew will cross sections of the Van Allen radiation belt to study the effect of cosmic radiation on the human body. All these observations will be used to improve the design of the future suit.
The company collaborates with the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), BioServe Space Technologies Research Institute, Space Technology Laboratory at Embry Riddle Aviation University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Western National Laboratory and the US Air Force Academy.
However, the spacesuit appears to be in its early stages of development, as SpaceX hasn’t started bidding for a contract for NASA’s lunar mission.
Possible alternatives to space suits
Companies are also developing alternatives to modern space suits. For example, the American Genesis Engineering Solutions presented a single-seat capsule SPS (Single Person Spacecraft) with compressed nitrogen microengines. In an emergency, such engines can be supplied with ordinary air from the breathing cylinders of the capsule.
The capsule is equipped with manipulators, which were originally developed for the disposal of explosive devices, so they are much more mobile than the suit’s gloves. Manipulators can be controlled by both the capsule pilot himself and a remote operator. The capsule can be tested on the new space station Orbital Reef, which is designed to replace the ISS for American astronauts.
In addition, since 2013, the Draper Research Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been developing a hybrid version of the suit with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Lyndon Johnson Space Center. It is intended for work on asteroids, for example, during geological exploration, as well as for long-term satellite repairs. A version of this suit is equipped with a SAFER (Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue) jetpack to allow the astronaut to regulate his movements.
Draper’s lab also developed the Take Me Home escape mechanism. This is a button that an astronaut can press if he feels unwell during a mission, and then the suit will go into autopilot mode and take him to the station. Take Me Home mode can also be activated from the station if its crew receives alarming data about the astronaut’s condition from sensors. To improve the positioning and orientation of astronauts, researchers have developed software that combines data from visual observation systems and inertial navigation systems.
Finally, Draper’s lab is developing a new suit with improved handling. He uses gyrodynes, devices similar to gyroscopes that allow you to control orientation in space and dampen rotations. In the future, in such suits, it will be possible to controllably fly, take a step, jump and even crawl.