Development of NASA astronaut costumes for missions to the Moon has been delayed. Elon Musk also offered his help to NASA to make the space suit.
The space suit, known as the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), will be used by NASA astronauts on the Artemis mission, scheduled to launch in 2024. However, due to delays in the development of this space, most likely the Artemis mission should also be postponed.
The delay was stated in a report by the Office of the Inspector General of NASA (OIG), which is tasked with overseeing NASA’s programs and operations. In its report, NASA's OIG said the space suit will be ready as early as April 2025.
"Given the expected delays in space expansion, a Moon landing by the end of 2024 as planned by NASA is currently unlikely," NASA's OIG report said.
The delay in the development of xEMU was due to several factors, ranging from a reduction in development funds, the closure of NASA facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other technical problems. NASA expects the development of xEMU to be delayed up to 12 months, but the above factors make the situation worse.
In response to this report, Elon Musk offered his help and SpaceX to develop xEMU for NASA. SpaceX itself has experience making space costumes for astronauts flying into orbit using Dragon Crew capsules.
"SpaceX can do it if needed," Musk said in response to a tweet by CNBC reporter Michael Sheetz.
In a subsequent tweet, Sheetz said there are 27 companies providing components for space suits. “It seems too much of a distraction,” Musk said in response.
NASA previously said it would be open to commercial collaboration to optimize spacesuit technology, so Musk's offer could be accepted by NASA.
But the space costumes that SpaceX developed are certainly different from what is needed to help astronauts survive on the Moon. The SpaceX spacecraft is designed to protect astronauts in the event of a fire in the capsule or reduced cabin pressure.
Meanwhile, clothing like the eXMU is designed to protect astronauts when coming out of the capsule and traveling on the Moon for long periods of time. NASA showed off the eXMU space suit in 2019, and claimed it would be more comfortable than the clothes worn by Apollo astronauts.
The report also revealed that NASA has spent USD 420 million to produce two spacecraft targeted for completion in November 2024. But the OIG estimates this cost will increase to USD 1 billion once both are completed.
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