"Particularly when it comes to stepping out of the spacecraft - the agency has yet to pick between Blue Origin and SpaceX's offerings in that regard - staying protected from the extreme temperature swings, space radiation, and lack of atmosphere is extremely challenging. That's not to mention the physical limitations of an extremely bulky spacesuit, which could physically tax astronauts even more than stepping outside of the International Space Station during a spacewalk."
"As Ars Technica reports, former NASA astronaut and microbiologist Kate Rubins, who retired last year and has logged 300 days in space, recently voiced her concerns over the Moon suit that private space company Axiom Space has been developing for NASA as part of a $228 million contract. "What I think we have on the Moon that we don't really have on the space station that I want people to recognize is an extreme physical stress," she said during a recent meeting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine."
""I think the suits are better than Apollo, but I don't think they are great right now," Rubin warned."
NASA plans the first crewed lunar mission in over fifty years within weeks and aims to return astronauts to the surface during Artemis 3 next year. Blue Origin and SpaceX compete for lunar lander roles while Axiom Space develops new Moon suits under a $228 million contract. The suits must protect crews from extreme temperature swings, space radiation, and vacuum while enabling mobility. Former astronaut Kate Rubins warned that prolonged daily EVAs in bulky suits will create extreme physical stress, with crews potentially spending eight or nine hours in suits each day. Axiom suits offer more flexibility than Apollo designs but remain heavy and imperfect.
Read at Futurism
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