Axiom will develop a ‘Moonwalking System’ to be used by NASA Artemis Astronauts when SpaceX Starship lands them on the Moon

Axiom Space is an American space infrastructure developer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company was awarded a $228.5 million NASA contract to develop a “moonwalking system” for Artemis III astronauts when SpaceX Starship lands them on the Lunar South Pole. Humans have not set foot on the Moon in 50 years, since the last Apollo mission which took place on December 7, 1972. 

SpaceX is developing a Starship Human Landing System (HLS) that will land the first woman and the first person of color to ever set foot on our closest celestial neighbor sometime in 2025. Many companies are collaborating with NASA to make the historic voyage possible. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, was developed with components from hundreds of American companies. The SLS will launch four Artemis III astronauts to lunar orbit aboard Orion, then Orion will dock to SpaceX’s Starship HLS to transfer the two lucky crew members that will explore the lunar surface for a week. Read more: NASA outlines how the SLS Orion & SpaceX Starship will land Artemis III astronauts on the Lunar South Pole 

The Axiom “moonwalking system” involves the development of lunar surface spacesuits and spacewalk life support systems to “give the astronauts increased range of motion and flexibility to explore more of the landscape than on previous lunar missions,” says the agency. “NASA is proud to partner with commercial industry on this historic mission that will kickstart the United States building a lasting presence on the surface of the Moon,” stated Lara Kearney, manager of NASA’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility program. “What we learn on Artemis III and future missions on and around the Moon will pave the way for missions to Mars. Spacesuits enable us to literally take that next step.”

During Artemis III, the brave astronaut duo will gather samples from the lunar surface to bring back to Earth, collect a variety of data, and take photographs, to meet scientific objectives that will provide NASA researchers with more insight to plan future lunar exploration missions. “The view from the lunar South Pole region will look very different from the photos taken on Apollo missions in the Moon’s equatorial region. The Sun will hover just above the horizon, casting long, dark shadows across the terrain, which the crew will explore using headlamps and navigational tools. The information and materials collected by Artemis III astronauts will increase our understanding of the mysterious South Pole region, the Moon, and our solar system,” shared NASA in a press release. The NASA Mission Control teams on Earth will maintain contact with the lunar explorers. This mission will be like nothing humanity has witnessed before, now technology is more advanced and cameras are higher quality that will enable the astronauts to share amazing videos of their Moon visit through advanced communication technology.

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Featured Image Source: NASA