{"id":586129,"date":"2026-04-15T17:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T17:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/586129\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T17:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T17:46:09","slug":"axiom-space-is-ready-to-test-its-next-generation-spacesuit-in-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/586129\/","title":{"rendered":"Axiom Space Is Ready to Test Its Next-Generation Spacesuit in 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

In keeping up with the Artemis program\u2019s expedited timeline<\/a>, Axiom Space said it\u2019s prepared to test its new spacesuits during an upcoming trip to low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

During a briefing at the 41st Space Symposium on Monday, company executives announced that they are almost finished with the critical design review of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit<\/a>, SpaceNews reported<\/a>. Axiom Space is preparing to certify the next-generation spacesuit\u2019s use in space in 2027, either on the International Space Station (ISS) or during the upcoming Artemis 3 mission.<\/p>\n

New fit <\/p>\n

NASA tasked Axiom Space with designing the first moonwalking spacesuits since the Apollo program, which will be worn by astronauts on the lunar surface as part of the agency\u2019s Artemis missions. In 2023, the company unveiled the AxEMU spacesuit under its initial $228.5 million contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AxemuAxiom Space designed the new spacesuit in partnership with Prada. Credit: Axiom Space <\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Axiom Space completed its internal review of the new spacesuits and was in the process of testing AxEMU with NASA astronauts and engineers using simulated surface operations and tasks. NASA announced<\/a> in February that it is evaluating whether AxEMU is ready to be worn by astronauts during the Artemis 3 mission, which has a targeted launch date of mid-2027. \u201cA NASA-led critical design sync review, which is an agency-required technical evaluation, will confirm that the design\u2019s hardware and systems are on track for final testing and delivery,\u201d the space agency wrote.<\/p>\n

During the recent briefing, Axiom Space executives said that the company is putting together a qualification suit to certify it for in-flight use by astronauts. The upcoming tests will simulate launch loads, as well as the temperatures and pressures experienced by astronauts in space, according to SpaceNews.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about as close as we can get to actual spaceflight on the ground, so that\u2019s a very important test for us,\u201d Russell Ralston, senior vice president and general manager of extravehicular activity at Axiom, said during the briefing.<\/p>\n

Ready for launch <\/p>\n

Axiom Space is aiming to have its next-generation spacesuit ready by next year to keep up with NASA\u2019s new timeline for the Artemis missions.<\/p>\n

Earlier in February, NASA announced a major revamp of its Artemis program<\/a>. The agency is planning on launching an additional flight in 2027, under Artemis 3, to attempt a rendezvous of the Orion spacecraft with commercial landers in Earth orbit before using them to land astronauts on the Moon. During Artemis 3, NASA also said it may test the new spacesuits.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven just getting an astronaut in a suit in microgravity, we can learn a lot,\u201d NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said at the time. \u201cAnd take this information back to inform hardware development, whether it\u2019s in the landers or in the suits, before Artemis 4.\u201d<\/p>\n

Axiom\u2019s Ralston said that the company has provided NASA with a number of options for testing the spacesuit on the Artemis 3 mission and discussions are still ongoing. \u201cIt would certainly be a valuable exercise, but we just don\u2019t have the specifics at this time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

If the company doesn\u2019t get to fly the spacesuit on Artemis 3, it may instead opt to test it on board the ISS, according to SpaceNews. \u201cThe agency has made it clear we\u2019re going to fly a suit next year,\u201d Jonathan Cirtain, president and chief executive of Axiom Space, said during the briefing. \u201cIs that to the International Space Station? Is that with the HLS providers? To be determined.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In keeping up with the Artemis program\u2019s expedited timeline, Axiom Space said it\u2019s prepared to test its new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[504,71450,718,79,193,24686],"class_list":{"0":"post-586129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-artemis","9":"tag-axiom-space","10":"tag-nasa","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-space","13":"tag-spacesuit"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}