NASA showed a spacesuit in which the Americans will return to the moon

Since the first flight of astronauts to the moonExactly 50 years have passed, so it is time for humanity to return again to the surface of the natural satellite of our planet to conduct research using more modern tools. NASA Space Agency plans to do this in 2024 as part of the Artemis program and is already getting ready to start it. So, the agency recently showed the public new versions of spacesuits that will allow a new generation of astronauts to withstand flights inside spaceships and better move around the moon and open outer space. So what is interesting about the new costumes?

NASA's new spacesuit for a moon flight in 2024

New suit for visiting the moon receivedname Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Units (xEMU). Outwardly, he is not much different from the costumes in which the legendary astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were dressed during their first outing to the moon. However, inside the novelty there are many different improvements that will allow new space travelers to more easily move around and communicate with the Earth. You can read a little more about the news on the NASA website.

The presentation of the new spacesuits was held at NASA headquarters in Washington.

How comfortable are the spacesuits?

You probably watched the video where the astronautsclumsily walk along the lunar surface and eventually stumble and fall. To prevent this from happening anymore, NASA engineers worked to improve the costume design with more advanced materials and mechanisms. Agency representatives assured that astronauts would be able to freely move their arms, lift them up and bend inside a 50-pound suit. A NASA engineer named Christine Davis, during a presentation by her example, showed that the xEMU spacesuit really allows you to easily bend and raise a stone.

3D model of a person to create an individual spacesuit

By the way, during the presentation, a woman was dressed in a suit for a reason - during the Artemis mission, the woman’s first step to the moon will be taken

Old and new technologies

In previous versions of space suitsastronauts were uncomfortable talking into the built-in microphone because it did not always follow the movements of their heads. In the updated version, two microphones are built into the upper part of the suit at once - as if the astronaut was not turning his head, his voice would always be perfectly audible.

In the photo: NASA CEO Jim Bridenstein and engineer Christine Davis

However, the old suit remained in the new suit.technologies. For example, astronauts will still have to put on an analogue of diapers. Of course, in most cases, you can do without them. But sorties into outer space can last for several hours, so space travelers still have to wear a diaper. So, just in case.

This is interesting: How did astronauts of the agency 57 years have to suffer when going to the toilet?

Space suit for flights to Mars

The main feature of the xEMU suit is itsmodular design. This means that almost every part of the spacesuit can be replaced by another, designed to work in other conditions. The creators hope that thanks to this design, the suit can be used both on the surface of the moon and open space, as well as inside the Gateway lunar station and even on Mars.

In addition to a spacesuit for outer space, a suit was presented for wearing inside a spaceship

The fact that xEMU will withstand work in completelydifferent conditions, almost no doubt. It is known that it protects against cosmic radiation better than previous versions and withstands the temperature range from -157 to 93 degrees Celsius.

Suit for flying inside a spaceship

In the photographs you can also notice the secondspacesuit painted in orange. The agency did not focus on it a lot of attention, so this novelty is not known as much as we would like. NASA representatives announced that it will be used during take-off and landing of the Orion spacecraft, on which it is planned to make the next flight to the moon. If necessary, astronauts will be able to stay inside the suit for up to 6 days.