NASA wants to test the combinations of the new moon on the space station in 2023

If NASA ever sends astronauts to the moon by 2024, it'll need new combinations for lunar exploration. But before the astronauts put on these suits on the moon, they will test them by taking them on the International Space Station in 2023, according to the engineer who supports the program.

NASA's Artemis Moon program aims to land the first astronauts at the south pole of the moon in 2024, but the current design of the space suit of the agency – called the extravehicular mobility unit, or EMU – is designed for floating extravehicular rides (or extra-vehicular activities), which do not climb around a rocky and lunar surface.

NASA's internal advanced space suit project is one of many efforts the agency has made in recent years to develop deep space exploration capabilities. In November 2016, according to a 2017 report from the Office of the Inspector General of NASA, the project focused on a new generation EVA combination, now known as xEMU. And so far, the agency is still holding its xEMU test calendar in orbit in 2023.

Related, connected, related: The evolution of the spatial suit in images

"We have made a lot of progress and have reiterated on this design, so we now have a very mature system," said NASA space suit engineer Lindsay Aitchison at the Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium. American Astronautical Society in Huntsville, Alabama.

Until now, the xEMU has conducted more than 30 runs in the neutral buoyancy lab, the huge pool that astronauts use to train to spacewalks, said Aitchison. .

XEMU recently passed its Preliminary Design Review, which is a major development milestone that demonstrates that the basic design appears to be operationally efficient. Aitchison adds that the design development tests will follow, and then the full version of the combination on the ISS in 2023. It is only if the space suit succeeds these orbital tests that it will be used by astronauts on the surface of the Moon in 2024.

Years of testing

Although the Trump administration ordered NASA, in March, to land on the Moon in 2024, it has been working for more than a decade to improve its space-exploration class combinations (or planetary surface). The iconic Apollo Spacesuit from the 1960s was based on an over 50-year-old design. Today's engineers are looking to create something more flexible based on what we have learned about astronauts and human factors since then.

In 2017, the OIG criticized NASA for extending his recent space-suit development to several programs, which allowed him to spend $ 200 million while leaving the agency "several years before having a space suit ready to fly, able to to replace EMU or could be used in future exploration missions "At the time, NASA had stated that the report" was a fair assessment of the current state of EVA systems "but that the OIG was" too critical "on the data and products provided to explain the Constellation Space Suit system contract, which ended a few years after the cancellation of the Moon-to program -March of the Constellation of the George W. Bush era, in 2010. NASA added that some of the CSSS deliverables could be used to reduce the risks associated with the current EVA systems of the International Space Station (ISS). ) "

More pics: NASA's futuristic Z-2 spacesuit in images
Related, connected, related: NASA Z-2 Spatial Combination: How it Works (Infographic)

Yet, the agency seems to use several ideas of space suits to illuminate the design of its new xEMU.

Aitchison mentioned various designs of space suits that have influenced xEMU since the early 1990s. Among the space suits she cited, let us mention the Mark III of the ILC Dover – used in a program that has NASA field trials called Desert Research and Technology Studies or Desert RATS – and the most recent Spatial combination Z-1 and Spatial combination Z-2 prototypes introduced by ILC Dover and NASA over the last decade.

"NASA has actually invested in a very methodical question regarding the development of space suits for exploration," Aitchison said, notably by implementing the "lessons learned" from the ISS program. Among the changes: the combination xEMU will have a smaller display unit at the front of the combination, which will facilitate the adaptation of a larger number of astronauts from the NASA, said Aitchison.

Spacesuit

In March, NASA withdrew from the project to launch the first all-female space tour because there were not enough space suits of EMU immediately available on the ISS, in the correct size, to be used by both programmed astronauts. The modification of the rigid upper torso unit in the EMU for larger (or shorter) astronauts generally taking about 12 hours of work, so NASA chose to mix the output tasks in the # 39 instead of moving away from more urgent experiments and repairs on the ISS. As a result of this situation, NASA's Jim Bridenstine told the House's scientific committee that future models of spacesuits better to adapt to the size range required by the astronaut population.

Another consideration for xEMU is that it will be able to conduct missions on the future Gateway space station on the moon, as well as for lunar exploration or for landing on Mars, Aitchison said. The design of xEMU can be modified to suit different missions, she explained, exchanging some components to ensure the safety of astronauts in these different environments.

As for ILC Dover, the company (with Collins Aerospace) introduced an "Astro" costume in August, it can be used for spacewalks, exploration of the Moon or Mars. The new combination system is for NASA and commercial space partners for future lunar and Martian exploration.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.