The American lunar program “Artemis” envisages expeditions lasting from several days to weeks and even months, but there is currently no moon for crew movement on the surface of the Earth satellite. Therefore, the US space agency is considering a plan of action in case the astronauts are far from the base and one of them cannot go alone. The first crewed flight under the Artemis program is planned for September 2025. The moon will have a 10-day transit. It is scheduled to land on the surface a year later, in September 2026, staying there for about a week.

Expeditions are expected to last a total of 60 days in 2033 and 2034, and the Artemis-10 mission is expected to last several months. As you may remember, during the Apollo program, astronauts spent a maximum of three days on the Moon’s surface (this record belongs to the Apollo 17 crew). Anything can happen during a short space mission. Of course, Apollo astronauts practiced in a variety of freelance situations during their training. If one of the two crew members suddenly “failed” while operating on the lunar surface, the latter would have to assess his situation, report to Earth and try to deliver his colleague to the descent module.

Interestingly, for example, during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, David Scott and James Irwin were a few kilometers from their ship but traveling on the moon. Even with a rover, a stationary partner on the moon is a very extreme case, and without a rover the problem becomes even more complicated.

With the new Artemis program, it will be necessary to go to the moon in the fall of 2026, and rovers for astronauts have not yet been built. The winner will be selected only in spring 2025. It is assumed that the machine will be ready earlier than the Artemis-5 mission, that is, by 2030. Therefore, the crews “Artemida-3” and “Artemida-4” will have to work without transport.

For this reason, NASA recently announced a new competition and promised 20 thousand dollars to the person who will develop the system that will save an astronaut who sets foot on the moon. The mission was to figure out how a fully equipped person on the lunar surface in an “egress” spacesuit could carry his helpless companion (“packaged”) up at least two kilometers without a car. Incline with 20 degree inclination.

A person on Earth wearing the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Suit, the new spacesuit for the Artemis mission, weighs 343 kilograms, according to the open competition site where NASA’s announcement was posted. Due to the weak gravity on the Moon, this weight reaches 57 kilograms.

It is worth noting that even the most powerful spacesuits planned so far do not weigh more than 175 kilograms. According to spacesuit designer Mykola Moiseyev, the 175-kilogram mass is already dangerous for the natural satellite of our planet. In any case, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has determined that the future system should not weigh more than 23 kilograms (on Earth) and that an astronaut should operate it alone. At the same time, developers were advised to take into account that Artemis aims to land on the edge of the lunar permafrost, near the South Pole.

Let us remind you that this place was chosen due to the presence of abundant water ice accumulation in the polar regions; The moon is harsh here; The temperature drops to minus 203 degrees Celsius. visibility is quite difficult. and craters tens of meters wide.