Nasa will unveil a new frontier in spacesuit design and will reveal prototypes for the Artemis III mission to the Moon in a March 15 event in Houston, Texas.
The agency contracted Axiom Space to develop the spacesuit that the first Artemis moonwalkers will wear.
“Our team at Axiom Space is honoured to be awarded this first task order to build the next-generation spacesuit,” Axiom Space chief executive Michael Suffredini said in a statement last year.
“We are excited to provide our expertise to meet Nasa's exploration needs.”
The Artemis programme aims to send the first woman, the first person of colour and the first astronaut from a country other than the US to the lunar surface.
Artemis will also be humanity’s first return to the Moon in more than 50 years, as well as the first manned mission to land near the lunar South Pole.
“Our modernised, evolvable spacesuits will enable rapid upgrades to implement better, safer technologies over time, ensuring our astronauts are always equipped with high-performing, robust equipment,” Mr Suffredini said.
The event will include a suit demonstration and a question and answer session.”
US President Joe Biden's budget proposal for 2024, revealed on Thursday, includes $27.2 billion for Nasa, which would allocate specific funds towards the Artemis mission, supporting the new lunar spacesuits.
Nasa officially branded the programme in 2019, with hopes of returning humans to the Moon by as early as 2024, but it has since shifted that deadline to 2025 at the earliest.
In November, the agency successfully launched an unmanned Orion capsule around the Moon, and plans to send the first Artemis astronauts around the Moon in November 2024.
Agencies contributed to this report
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
