NASA Requires Development of Lunar-Resistant Gloves and Footwear to Cope with Extreme Cold Moon Conditions
A Chilly Lunar Venture: NASA's Game Plan for Keeping Artemis III Astronauts Toasty
NASA is gearing up for its next lunar expedition, and this time, things are about to get a bit frosty. The agency is working diligently to ensure their astronauts stay snug as bugs in a rug when exploring the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole - places known to be the coldest spots in our solar system, reaching a mind-boggling -414 degrees Fahrenheit (-248 degrees Celsius)!
To tackle this icy challenge, a team of NASA engineers is prepping to test the elbow joints of tomorrow's spacesuits in the Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory, or CITADEL, for short. Despite its imposing name, this laboratory was initially designed to test robot parts for non-crewed missions journeying to the icy moons of our solar system. Now, it's where humanity's long- awaited comeback to the Moon unfolds.
"We're aiming to figure out the risks associated with astronauts heading into these permanently shadowed regions, and gloves and boots are crucial because they come in direct contact with freezing surfaces and tools," explains Zach Fester, a NASA Johnson engineer and technical lead for boot testing.
Standing 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide, the CITADEL is housed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Unlike most cryogenic facilities, CITADEL uses compressed helium to reach incredibly low temperatures, down to a chilly -370 Fahrenheit (-223 Celsius). Getting the chamber to this freezing point can take several days, and opening it would restart the whole process. To avoid that, CITADEL comes equipped with four load locks, allowing test materials to be inserted while preserving the chamber's chilled vacuum state.
In addition to a robotic arm for grabbing test materials, CITADEL also boasts visible and infrared light cameras to capture the entire testing process. For simulations of lunar missions, the team adds abrasion testing and lunar regolith-like material to the chamber, and aluminum blocks to simulate tools the astronauts might handle.
In the past, NASA used actual astronauts for thermal testing, making them insert their gloved hands inside a chilled glove box, grab an icy object, and hold onto it until their skin temperatures dropped to a shivering 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). Now, the space agency has a custom-built manikin hand and foot for testing inside CITADEL. The manikin's extremities are fitted with a system of fluid loops that mimic the flow of warm blood through the appendages, and it's equipped with dozens of temperature and heat flux sensors collecting data from inside the gloves and boots.
When compared to the Apollo missions, NASA's Artemis 3 mission is set to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since the 1970s. Instead of landing near the equator on the near side of the Moon like Apollo crews, the Artemis teams will delve into the lunar south pole – a region of great interest to scientists because it might hold water ice in permanently shadowed craters. However, this ancient terrain comes with its own set of challenges, including extreme temperatures and areas where sunlight doesn't reach. The Artemis astronauts will spend roughly two hours at a time inside these craters, braving temperatures that can plummet to a bone-chilling -414 degrees Fahrenheit (-248 degrees Celsius).
To tackle these extreme conditions, astronauts will don new, fashion-forward spacesuits – the first moonwalking spacesuits since the Apollo missions. In 2022, NASA tasked Axiom Space with designing these fresh suits, known as the AxEMU (Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit). The company built the AxEMU on the legacy of the Apollo spacesuits, incorporating newer technology to improve astronauts' mobility and protect them from the lunar environment. Axiom Space collaborated with Prada to leverage the brand's design expertise and materials, aiming to give astronauts a stylish look on the Moon.
The ongoing tests in CITADEL will help NASA determine criteria for its next-generation AxEMU spacesuits. Results from the testing on the gloves so far indicate that they are not ideal for the lunar south pole, as they have underperformed in the cryogenic conditions. The boot testing results have yet to be analyzed thoroughly.
"Our focus is on identifying the limits: How long can a glove or boot remain in the lunar environment without suffering damage?" says Shane McFarland, technology development lead for the Advanced Suit Team at NASA Johnson. "We want to quantify the current hardware's capability gaps, share that info with the Artemis suit vendor, and develop this unique test capability to assess future hardware designs."
The Artemis 3 mission is scheduled to launch in 2027, sending astronauts on a grand tour of previously uncharted territories on the Moon. Here's hoping these brave explorers stay cozy in the frigid, shady south pole!
- The Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2027, will mark NASA's return to the Moon since the 1970s, with astronauts landing in the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole, the coldest spots in our solar system.
- The testing of the elbow joints of tomorrow's spacesuits for the Artemis III mission is being carried out in CITADEL, a laboratory initially designed for testing robot parts for non-crewed missions in icy environments such as the moons of our solar system.
- Gizmodo reports that NASA is using custom-built manikin hands and feet for testing spacesuits in CITADEL, as opposed to actual astronauts, to better simulate the conditions that astronauts will face in the lunar south pole.
- As the Artemis III astronauts venture into the frigid, shady south pole, they will wear the new AxEMU spacesuits, designed by Axiom Space and inspired by fashion house Prada, to withstand extreme temperatures and ensure the astronauts' safety and mobility.
