NASA is Making New Space Suits, and They Cost a Lot!
NASA has been working on two spacesuits for the Artemis program
The NASA space suits have remained more or less the same ever since Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. Now, the organization is changing that. It will spend US$ 1 (about AU$ 1.36) billion on space suits that will take a while to develop and might delay the next mission to the moon.
The new NASA Space Suits
It was revealed in an audit report that was published on August 10, 2021. In that report, the Inspector General of NASA highlighted that it had spent US$ 420 (About AU$ 576) million on developing spacesuits since 2007. It is planning to invest about US$ 625 (About AU$ 848) million in space suits by 2025. The total spent by NASA will come around to ten figures soon.
A good chunk of the money reserved for space suits will be spent on creating flight-ready spacesuits that are meant for the Artemis program. This program by NASA involves a crewed mission to the moon and is scheduled for 2024. Named the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit or zEMU, the space suit will have the latest and greatest tech like lights, cameras, and a life-support system. Each of these space suits will have many components, which are to be supplied by 27 different vendors and contractors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted NASA’s plans. Other things that impacted the plans were technical challenges and funding shortfalls.
According to the report, the new space suits by NASA can be about two years late. So, the plans to go into space with new suits on in 2024 will not be feasible. So, the mission might need to be postponed till April 2025.
The findings of the report were noticed by space enthusiast and billionaire Elon Musk who instantly offered assistance. He tweeted, “SpaceX could do it if need be.” He also tweeted that having too many vendors to help design the space suits was like having “too many cooks in the kitchen.”
Previously NASA had just contracted with two companies- ILC Dover and Hamilton Exploration. They helped in building the space suits that are currently being used on the International Space Station.
In other news, Audi Skysphere has also been revealed.
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