In 2026, NASA plans to land humans on the moon for the first time since 1972. Times have changed, as evidenced by new rockets, spacecraft and spacesuits.
To prepare for the Artemis 3 moon landing mission, in late April two astronauts donned Axiom Space’s new spacesuits and for the first time tested a mock-up version of the vehicle that would take them to the moon.
Scientists and engineers say the test – the first of its kind since the Apollo era – provided feedback on how well the spacesuits were made by Axiomworked with a test version of SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS), NASA’s chosen vehicle to carry astronauts to and from the Moon during the Artemis 3 mission. They were able to assess the layout of the HLS, including its layout, physical design and enlightened, according to NASA statement.
The three-hour test, which was conducted at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., was also useful for assessing the flexibility of the spacesuits and the ease of getting in and out of them before stowing them in the airlock with minimal assistance.
Two astronauts, Peggy Whitson of Axiom Space and Doug Wheelock of NASA, donned spacesuits in a full-scale mock-up of the airlock that has landed on the Starship’s airlock deck. Each suit also includes a full-scale “backpack” model of the portable life support system, according to a statement by Axiom.
During the test, the astronauts interacted with a control panel in the airlock to make sure the controls were within reach and could be activated while wearing gloves, NASA said. They also practiced using a test elevator that would take astronauts and their equipment from the Starship deck to the surface of the Moon for moonwalks during Artemis program missions.
“Overall, I was pleased with the astronauts’ handling of the control panel and their ability to perform the difficult tasks they will have to complete before stepping on the moon,” said Logan Kennedy, manager of surface activities for NASA’s HLS program. in the NASA statement. “The test also confirmed that the space available in the airlock, on the deck and in the elevator is sufficient for the work our astronauts plan to do.”
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In March of last year, NASA and Axiom revealed prototype spacesuit, the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), which is designed to be worn by astronauts both in flight and on the Moon. The company is beyond the point of preliminary design review with NASA and will enter a critical design review phase later this year, Axiom said in a statement.
“Integrated tests like this, with key programs and partners working together, are critical to ensuring that systems run smoothly and are safe and effective for astronauts before they take their next steps on the Moon,” Amit Kshatriya, Manager of NASA’s Moon to Mars program, NASA said in a statement.
In April, Axiom tested one of the idle spacesuits at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, for which the company added weights to the suit to mimic the lunar environment, where gravity is only one-sixth that on Earth. An astronaut will soon don the suit for the first test in the water, the company said in its latest statement.
Meanwhile, the astronauts’ ride to the moon, Starship, is being developed by SpaceX to be fully utilized to support economically feasible trips to the moon and eventually to Mars. On Friday (June 7), the company moved closer to that goal with a successful fourth test flight which ended in a smooth water landing for both the vehicle’s Super Heavy booster and the Starship itself.
However, humanity’s return to the moon is now expected to happen no earlier than September 2026, after NASA delayed his touchdown plans from the originally targeted landing in late 2025. Problems with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield, life support systems, and the electrical system in the crew interruption system contributed to the delays.
“As we prepare to send our friends and colleagues on this mission, we are committed to launching as safely as possible,” Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator, told reporters during a media teleconference in January. “And we’ll launch when we’re ready.”
