NASA Requires Developing Frost-Resistant Gloves and Footwear for Lunar Missions
Bracing for the Baker: NASA's Lunar Chill-Down Adventure
Things are about to get icy at NASA. The space agency plans to equip its astronauts suitably for a journey into the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole. And they're not mucking about - temperatures in these regions can plunge to a teeth-chattering -223°C (-370°F).
To prepare for this deep-freeze, NASA's engineers are putting the next-gen spacesuits to the test. They've set up shop in CITADEL (short for the Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory). This 4-meter tall, 1.5-meter wide beast is slumbering at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sporting the ability to chill down to a mind-boggling -223°C using compressed helium. It's a bit of a slow starter, though; it takes several days to reach the desired temperatures, and once open, the whole process restarts.
Talk about high tech! Thanks to CITADEL's four load locks, test materials can be slipped in without disturbing its chilly vacuum state. And let's not forget CITADEL's robotic arm and cameras - they're capturing every minute detail of the testing process. For simulations of the Moon missions, the team will add abrasion testing, lunar regolith-like material, and aluminum blocks to simulate tools.
In the past, NASA made astronauts painfully augment their own thermal testing. They'd thrust their gloved hands into a chilled glove box, grab freezing objects, and hang on until their fingers dropped to a frosty 10°C (50°F). Now, the agency has a custom-built mannequin hand and foot for testing. They've bedecked its extremities with a system of fluid loops and a score of temperature sensors. Think of it as a high-tech winter warrior striving to mirror human warmth.
The AxEMU, or Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, is NASA's star spacesuit in the making. Crafted following the blueprints of the Apollo suits, with some new-age updates, the AxEMU promises to grant astronauts more flexibility and enhanced lunar environmental protection. Axiom Space partnered with Prada, bringing the fashion house's design and material know-how to the lunar landscape. The idea? Stylish and functional spacesuits for the astronauts on the Moon.
The assessments underway in CITADEL are integral to NASA's grand plan. Although the gloves being tested have been in the game since the '80s, they haven't been cut out for the harsh lunar cold. Simply put, they're struggling with the icy frontier, falling short of the thermal requirements of the lunar south pole. Results regarding the boots are still wrapped up tight, pending analysis.
Shane McFarland, technology development lead for NASA's Advanced Suit Team, put it succinctly: "This test is probing the limits: How long these glove or boot can endure in the lunar environment without freezing up? We're trying to establish what our hardware gulf is, so we can share that intel with our Artemis suit vendor, and we're also looking to foster this innovative test capability for future suit design assessments."
With the Artemis 3 mission scheduled to launch in 2027, we're looking at a crew of astronauts venturing into the uncharted, frostbite-friendly zones of the Moon. Let's hope the astronauts' new, futuristic suits can keep them toasty in the moon's deep freeze!
- The upcoming Artemis 3 mission, scheduled for 2027, will see astronauts embarking on a journey to the frostbite-friendly zones of the Moon's permanently shadowed regions at the south pole.
- NASA's new, futuristic spacesuit, the AxEMU, is being tested in CITADEL to ensure it can provide enhanced lunar environmental protection and Grant astronauts more flexibility for the harsh conditions they will face.
- The technology development lead for NASA's Advanced Suit Team, Shane McFarland, stated that the testing in CITADEL is crucial in understanding the limits of the gloves and boots, as they are currently struggling with the icy frontier, and in sharing this information with the Artemis suit vendor.
- Fashion house Prada has partnered with Axiom Space to bring their design and material expertise to the lunar landscape, with the goal of creating stylish and functional spacesuits for the astronauts on the Moon as part of the Artemis mission.
