Get ready to experience a blast from the past because NASA is planning to send astronauts back to the Moon after more than 50 years of absence. That’s right, you heard it correctly, NASA is preparing for an epic moon mission, and this time, they’re not just going to plant a flag and leave; they’re planning to establish a sustainable presence there.
The ambitious program, called the Artemis program, aims to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. It’s an exciting and challenging task that will require significant resources, advanced technologies, and a lot of hard work.
NASA teams up with Axiom Space
As Engadget reveals, NASA and Axiom Space have unveiled the prototype of the new spacesuit that Artemis III astronauts will wear on their mission to the Moon, scheduled for December 2025. This will be the first crewed lunar landing in over 50 years and will include the first woman and person of color to walk on the Moon. The new suit is designed to be more flexible and accommodating to a wider range of body types, and it features lights and an HD camera. It can also withstand the extreme cold of the Moon’s permanently shadowed areas. While the prototype is not the iconic white of NASA’s previous suits, the final version is expected to be all-white.
.@Axiom_Space revealed a spacesuit prototype that our @NASA_Astronauts plan to wear near the Moon’s South Pole on @NASA’s #Artemis III mission.
The spacesuit will give lunar explorers extra mobility, protection, & the latest technology. Discover more: https://t.co/uxH21hkSjd pic.twitter.com/bqxcrwR6Y6
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) March 15, 2023
The distance between the Earth and the Moon is not constant but varies due to the elliptical shape of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. On average, however, the Moon is about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away from Earth.
This distance is relatively close in astronomical terms and has allowed humans to study and explore the Moon in various ways. For example, astronauts have been able to travel to the Moon and walk on its surface during the Apollo missions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
