Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Cold: NASA's Lunar Challenge
NASA Requires Development of Gloves and Boots Resistant to Moon's Freezing Temperatures
NASA's upcoming trip to the Moon in the Artemis 3 mission is shaping up to be an icy adventure, with the agency scrambling to figure out how to keep its astronauts cozy when exploring permanent shadows in the lunar south pole.
A troop of NASA wizards are prepping to scrutinize elbow joints in a colossal cryogenic chamber to evaluate the fabric of the next-gen spacesuits designed for lunar expeditions. The Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory, or CITADEL for short, was initially built to test robot parts for uncrewed missions streaking to icy moons throughout the solar system. CITADEL is now finding a new purpose in humanity's long-awaited return to our shiny silver neighbor.
"We're desperate to grasp what the risk is to astronauts diving into permanent shadows, and gloves and boots are crucial because they make prolonged contact with nippy surfaces and tools," Zach Fester, an engineer with the Advanced Suit Team at NASA Johnson and the technical lead for the boot testing, said in a note.
The 4-feet tall and 5-feet wide CITADEL can be found at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Most cryogenic facilities whip up liquid nitrogen to refrigerate an object, but CITADEL takes the cooling process up a notch, utilizing compressed helium to reach temperatures as chill as -370 Fahrenheit (-223 Celsius). The chamber requires several days to attain the ideal chill, and yanking it open can restart the entire process. To avoid this, CITADEL is equipped with four load locks, drawer-like chambers, through which test materials can be inserted while maintaining its icy vacuum seal.
CITADEL boasts a robotic arm to snatch test materials, as well as visible and infrared light cameras to catch every bit of the testing action. To simulate Moon missions, the team will add abrasion testing and lunar regolith-like material to the chamber, and aluminum blocks to simulate tools that the astronauts might grab.
In days of yore, NASA would utilize its real-life astronauts for thermal testing, pushing them to insert their frost-bitten digits into a chilled glove box, clutch a frigid object, and hold on tight until their skin temperatures dropped to as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). Today, NASA employs a custom-built manikin hand and foot for testing inside CITADEL. Each appendage sports a system of fluid loops to mimic the flow of warm blood, while dozens of temperature and heat flux sensors collect data from within the gloves and boots.
Astronauts revisiting the Moon will put on some fresh duds—spiffy new spacesuits. In 2022, NASA entrusted Axiom Space with cooking up the first moon-treading spacesuits since the Apollo missions. The company then unveiled the AxEMU, or Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, which was crafted on the legacy of Apollo suits while incorporating cutting-edge technology to boost astronaut mobility and shield them from the lunar environment. Axiom Space liaised with Prada, borrowing the brand's flair for design and materials, while also attempting to offer an aesthetically pleasing spectacle for the astronauts on the Moon.
The ongoing tests in CITADEL will assist NASA in ascertaining criteria for its next-gen AxEMU spacesuits. Meanwhile, the gloves being tested in the chamber have proven to be less than desirable, indicating that they would not live up to the thermal demands of the lunar south pole, according to NASA. Results regarding the boots remain to be seen.
Shane McFarland, technology development lead for the Advanced Suit Team at NASA Johnson, said in a statement, "This test strives to discover limits: How long can that glove or boot withstand being in the lunar environment? We are endeavoring to quantify our capability gap for the current hardware so we can divulge that information to the Artemis suit vendor, and we also want to develop this unique test facility to evaluate future hardware designs."
NASA's Artemis 3 mission is slated for a 2027 launch, transporting astronauts to terra incognita realms of the Moon. Let's hope they can stay toasty in the dark and frigid lunar south pole.
- The upcoming Artemis 3 mission by NASA will feature spiffy new spacesuits, as the agency has entrusted Axiom Space with creating the first moon-treading spacesuits since the Apollo missions.
- To ensure the astronauts' comfort in the frigid lunar south pole, NASA is conducting tests on spacesuit gloves and boots in the Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory (CITADEL).
- The results from these tests will help NASA determine the criteria for its next-generation AxEMU spacesuits, which are crucial for the Artemis 3 mission in 2027.
- Science and technology will play a significant role in the Artemis 3 mission, with the spacesuits integrating cutting-edge designs and materials, potentially including elements inspired by fashion brands like Prada.
