These NASA spacesuits will be used for missions to the International Space Station and the Moon.
The US agency NASA announced on Wednesday that it has awarded contracts to two companies to develop the next generation of spacesuits for missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and the Moon .
The Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) Contract winners were Axiom Space , which has arranged commercial flights to the ISS and is working on its own private space station , and the other to Collins Aerospace .
“History will be made with the suits when we get to the Moon. We will have our first black person and our first woman to be wearers and wearers of these suits in space,” Vanessa Wyche, director of the Johnson Space Center, told reporters. NASA, in Houston, state of Texas (south).
Contract values have yet to be announced, but are capped at a combined $3.5 billion through 2034.
How will this process work?
NASA could end up choosing both companies, just one, or add more companies later.
The experts from the US agency established the technical standards that were required of the companies responsible for designing, certifying and producing the suits, as well as the support equipment for the ISS and Artemis missions to return to the Moon.
“The existing spacesuit has been the agency’s workhorse for 40 years,” said Dina Contella, ISS operations integration manager. However, she stressed that the new generation of these special garments will be more flexible, versatile and durable. (AFP)