NASA Requires Development of Lunar-Resistant Gloves and Footwear Capable of Enduring Moon's Freezing Temperatures
Gearing Up for the Chilly Moon: NASA's Mission to Keep Astronauts Warm on the Lunar South Pole
NASA's impending trips to the Moon's south pole will be quite the ice bucket challenge compared to the Apollo missions, and the space agency is hard at work figuring out how to keep their cosmic explorers comfy in the frigid, shadowed regions.
A team of NASA's brightest engineers are readying to test elbow joints in a colossal cryogenic chamber, scrutinizing the fabric of the next-gen spacesuits destined for the Moon-trotting astronauts. Enter the Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory, or CITADEL—you guessed it, an abbreviation. Originally built to check out robot parts for non-crewed missions voyaging to far-flung locales like the icy moons of our solar system, CITADEL has now turned its attention to humanity's eagerly awaited comeback to our lunar neighbor.
As Zach Fester, an engineer with the Advanced Suit Team at NASA Johnson and the technical lead for the boot testing, elucidated in a statement, "We're concerned about the threats to astronauts trekking into those perpetually shadowed regions. Gloves and boots are crucial because they make extended contact with freezing surfaces and tools."
CITADEL stands at a statuesque 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall and a spacious 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide. This mechanical marvel nests cozily at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Unlike other cryogenic facilities that rely on liquid nitrogen to chill an object, CITADEL employs compressed helium to plummet temperatures to a mind-blowing -370 Fahrenheit (-223 Celsius). It takes several days for the chamber to reach the desired temperatures, and popping it open initiates a whole new cooling cycle. To circumvent this, CITADEL comes equipped with four load locks, drawers that allow test materials to be introduced while the chamber maintains its chilled vacuum state.
CITADEL is also furnished with a robotic arm to seize the test samples and visible and infrared light cameras to capture the testing process. For simulations of lunar missions, the team intends to incorporate abrasion testing and lunar regolith-like material in the chamber, along with aluminum blocks mimicking tools the astronauts may handle.
Historically, NASA would involve its astronauts themselves for thermal testing, compelling them to insert gloved mitts into an icy cooler, grab a frozen object, and maintain their grip until their skin temperatures plummeted as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). Nowadays, NASA employs a custom-built manikin hand and foot for testing inside CITADEL. With fluid loops replicating the flow of warm blood through the extremities and a host of temperature and heat flux sensors collecting data from within the gloves and boots, this mechanical surrogate ensures NASA gets accurate insights without endangering human astronauts.
NASA's Artemis 3 mission is set to touch down astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo's heyday. Unlike the Apollo crew, who landed near the equator on the Moon's near side, the Artemis squad will delve into the lunar south pole. This polar region captures the scientific community's attention due to the potential presence of water ice in perpetually shadowed areas, but it also poses a harsh climate due to extreme temperatures and areas bereft of sunlight. According to NASA, Artemis astronauts will spend roughly two hours at a time within craters housing ice deposits, where temperatures can reach an icy -414 degrees Fahrenheit (-248 degrees Celsius).
Prepare for a fashion statement on the Moon, because the upcoming Artemis astronauts will strut around in some seriously stylish spacesuits. In 2022, NASA entrusted Axiom Space with creating the first lunar spacesuits since the Apollo era. This new creation, dubbed the AxEMU or Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, blends Apollo's legacy with modern technology to grant astronauts more mobility and safeguards against the lunar environment. Axiom Space teamed up with Prada to tap the brand's expertise in design and materials, while also striving to offer an aesthetically pleasing look for the astronauts on the Moon.
While the ongoing tests in CITADEL help NASA fine-tune criteria for its next-generation AxEMU spacesuits, the gloves currently being tested in the chamber have fallen short of the mark. According to NASA, these gloves—in use since the 1980s and part of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit donned by astronauts aboard the International Space Station for spacewalks—have not lived up to the thermal demands of the lunar south pole. On the flip side, the boot testing results are still under review.
"This test aims to pinpoint the limits: How long can a glove or boot sustain the severe lunar environment?" said Shane McFarland, the technology development lead for the Advanced Suit Team at NASA Johnson. "We want to quantify the capability gap in the existing hardware so we can pass this valuable information on to the Artemis suit vendor. We also plan to cultivate this distinctive test capability to analyze future hardware designs."
NASA's Artemis 3 mission, scheduled for a 2027 launch, will whisk astronauts on an expedition through unexplored territories on the Moon. Here's hoping those explorers manage to stay cosy in the frigid and dark lunar south pole.
- Despite the Apollo missions, the future lunar expeditions by NASA to the Moon's south pole will encounter harsh and frigid temperatures.
- The Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory (CITADEL) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is being used to test the next-generation spacesuits for the Moon-trotting astronauts, focusing specifically on gloves and boots.
- Currently, gizmodos like the AxEMU spacesuit, developed by Axiom Space, are being designed with a blend of modern technology and the legacy of Apollo spacesuits to provide enhanced mobility and protection for the Artemis astronauts.
- The ongoing tests in CITADEL are crucial in helping NASA understand the thermal demands of the lunar south pole and identify the capability gap in the current spacesuit hardware, which can then be addressed in future designs.
