An artist’s illustration of two suited crew members working on the lunar surface. The one in the foreground lifts a rock to examine it while the other photographs the collection site in the background. Credit: NASA
Axiom Space has been selected by NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion."” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>NASA to deliver a moonwalking system for the Artemis III mission. This mission will land Americans on the surface of the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. This award – the first one under a competitive spacesuits contract – is for a task order to develop a next-generation Artemis spacesuit and supporting systems, and to demonstrate their use on the surface of the Moon during Artemis III.
With this award, NASA has put in place another cornerstone of returning astronauts to the Moon under Artemis. Their goal is to support continued scientific breakthroughs, benefiting humanity back on Earth. NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon as part of its planned human lunar spaceflight missions.
After reviewing proposals from its two eligible spacesuit vendors, NASA selected Axiom Space for the task order. It has a base value of $228.5 million. A future task order will be needed for recurring spacesuit services to support subsequent Artemis missions.
“NASA is proud to partner with commercial industry on this historic mission that will kickstart the United States building a lasting presence on the surface of the Moon,” said Lara Kearney. She is the manager of NASA’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility program. “What we learn on Artemis III and future missions on and around the Moon will pave the way for missions to MarsMars is the second smallest planet in our solar system and the fourth planet from the sun. It is a dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. Iron oxide is prevalent in Mars' surface resulting in its reddish color and its nickname "The Red Planet." Mars' name comes from the Roman god of war.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>Mars. Spacesuits enable us to literally take that next step.”
Utilizing more than 50 years of spacesuit expertise, NASA defined the technical and safety requirements for the next generation of spacesuits. Axiom Space will be responsible for the design, development, qualification, certification, and production of its spacesuits and support equipment that will meet these key NASA requirements for Artemis III.
Experts from NASA will maintain the authority for astronaut training, mission planning, and approval of the service systems. Axiom Space is required to test the suits in a spacelike environment before Artemis III.
Under the indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity of the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) contract, eligible industry partners compete for task orders that will provide a full suite of capabilities for NASA’s spacewalking and moonwalking needs during the period of performance through 2034.
Future task orders under the contract will consist of recurring lunar landings, the development of spacesuits for use in low-Earth orbit outside the International Space Station (ISS), and special studies. NASA is currently evaluating task order options for space station spacesuits.
The spacesuits contract, which will advance spacewalking capabilities in low-Earth orbit and on the Moon, is managed by the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Through the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. They will also pave the way for a long-term, sustainable lunar presence that will serve as a stepping stone for future astronaut missions to Mars.
Source: SciTechDaily
