China’s human spaceflight agency has released the external design of the spacesuit for the country’s future manned missions to the Moon. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) unveiled an extravehicular lunar suit on September 28 in Chongqing, southwestern China. CMSA is also taking name suggestions for the suit.

The suit is being developed as part of China’s goal to land astronauts on the moon by 2030. China is also currently working on a new crewed launch vehicle, Long March 10, a crewed spacecraft, and a crewed lander for this mission. A rover for the crew is also being designed.

As part of the reveal, a promotional video was released showcasing both the appearance and basic abilities of the suit. Astronauts Wang Yaping and Zhai Zhigang, the second Chinese women in space, modeled the EVA suit.

It is stated that the suit has a complex protective fabric that protects against harsh thermal environments and moon dust. The helmet is equipped with an anti-glare panoramic visor. The helmet also has separate cameras with long and short focal lengths. The chest features an integrated multifunctional control console.

The costume also carries elements of Chinese culture. The red stripes on the top are inspired by the ribbons from the famous “flying apsaras” of Dunhuang art. The overall design of the lunar suit is said to be based on the traditional Chinese armor style.

Unlike the Feitian EVA suit used in China’s low Earth orbit, the lunar suit is designed to be lightweight to meet the requirements of operating in a low-gravity environment. This allows movements such as squatting and bending.

“The suit allows for more action. For this reason, the physical form should not deteriorate after changing the pose in different poses. “So it needs to adapt to the human body better,” Wang Chunhui, deputy chief designer of astronaut training systems at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, told China Central Television (CCTV). he said.

Wang said the suit is designed to work in a variety of harsh environments. Complex environmental factors include space and low gravity, lunar dust and regolith, complex surface topography, and extreme high and low temperatures. It should also protect astronauts from a high-radiation environment.

“Given that they operate in one-sixth gravity, the weight of the suit needs to be significantly reduced to reduce the metabolic burden on the human body,” Wang said. “Since astronauts will walk and conduct scientific research on the lunar surface, spacesuits need to have better ergonomic support features and be smaller and more integrated,” he added.

China’s crew landing plan calls for a short stay of two astronauts on the lunar surface, lasting about six hours. However, this mission is part of long-term lunar exploration. The country will send robot missions to the moon’s south pole in 2026 and 2028 to explore for resources and test the use of existing resources as a precursor to a lunar base. The International Lunar Reconnaissance Station (ILRS) is planned to be built in the 2030s. It will eventually be able to accept people’s short-term stays.

Meanwhile, NASA is working on the Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon and establish a permanent presence on the moon. The Artemis 3 crewed mission is currently scheduled to land before September 2026. However, the agency’s own analysis points to possible significant delays in the Artemis 3 lander landing on the Moon. NASA has selected Axiom Space in 2022 to develop a spacesuit for use on the Artemis 3 mission. Both China and NASA are trying to attract partners for ILRS and Artemis, respectively.