NASA has awarded Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace mission orders under existing contracts to develop low-Earth orbit spaceflight capabilities and moonwalking services for the Artemis missions.

According to the latest Extravehicular Activity Exploration Service orders, valued at $5 million each, Axiom Space will begin work on a spacesuit for use in low Earth orbit, and Collins Aerospace will begin work on a spacesuit for use on the lunar surface. . Encouraging innovation in suits and services from both companies helps NASA advance missions for the benefit of humanity as part of its approach to Moon-to-Mars exploration and offers potential options if any developmental challenges arise.

Lara Kearney, extravehicular activity and human surface mobility program manager, said: “These mission orders pave the way for NASA’s deep space exploration and commercialization of low-Earth orbit, while helping NASA succeed as additional capabilities become necessary or useful for NASA’s missions. ” said. . . at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Using this competitive approach, we will improve redundancy, expand future capabilities, and continue to invest in the space economy.”

Each contract vendor proposed a plan to continue developing the spacesuit to operate in a different environment than described under the original order. Axiom Space was previously commissioned to develop a spacewalk system for partial gravity display on the lunar surface during Artemis III and will now begin early evaluations to expand the suit beyond the International Space Station. Similarly, Collins Aerospace had previously received an order to develop a spacewalk system for demonstration in microgravity outside the space station and will now begin an early evaluation to expand this suit for use on the lunar surface.

Evaluations by both vendors will provide NASA with the understanding and redundancy of using the suit systems despite the differences between low Earth orbit and the lunar surface, including different gravitational fields, natural space environments such as radiation, and mission missions such as microgravity. walking in partial gravity.

Suppliers will begin work on design changes through the first milestone set by the awardee in their proposal for the initial content of the task order. Once this first step is complete, NASA can implement mission sequencing options to continue development. If NASA chooses to pursue all tracking options with a particular vendor, resulting in a flight demonstration, the vendor must pass all required pre-flight safety and performance checks and ultimately complete a spacewalk or moonwalk at the appropriate destination.

The contract allows selected vendors to compete for mission orders for missions that will provide all capabilities for NASA’s spaceflight needs during the 2034 performance period. Initial mission orders are for development and services for the first extra-space demonstration of a low-Earth orbit station and the Moon landing of Artemis III. The contract was designed with the needs of the agency and the space industry in mind, and provides NASA with a mechanism to add additional capabilities and vendors as the commercial space services market evolves.

NASA’s investment in these additional capabilities will help strengthen a strong commercial space industry. Each vendor participating in the nonvehicle exploration services contract will have the spacesuits it develops under the contract and can collaborate with other commercial customers and explore non-NASA commercial programs for related technologies. Source