NASA's proposed date of 2024 to land humans on the moon has always felt extremely ambitious.
Now, a new report from the NASA Office of Inspector General says the spacesuits NASA astronauts would need for the endeavor won't be ready until April 2025 at the earliest.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk suggested his company could step in to help.
A recent report points out delays in the development of the Artemis moon spacesuits due to funding shortfalls, COVID impacts, and technical challenges.
NASA had previously hyped up the suits -- known as Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (Xemu) -- in 2019.
NASA has been willing to work with commercial providers on big space projects, from delivering astronauts and cargo to the ISS to delivering hardware to the moon.
In July, NASA said it would embrace commercial partnerships "to optimize spacesuit technology and inspire pioneering in the space market," so Musk's SpaceX offer is within the realm of possibility.
Astronauts onboard the International Space Station use spacesuits “designed 45 years ago for the Space Shuttle” program, the report noted.
The IG also highlighted that those spacesuits have been “refurbished and partially redesigned” over the past decades to continue working.
The space agency has started three different spacesuit programs since 2007, the inspector general found, and has spent $420.1 million on development since then.
Additionally, the report said NASA “plans to invest approximately $625.2 million more” on development, testing and qualification to complete a suit for a demonstration on the ISS and two suits for the crewed mission to the moon – for a total cost of “over $1 billion” through 2025.
The Artemis program is a layered endeavor.
NASA has been working on its SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to carry astronauts back to our lunar neighbor.
The rocket system has also seen its share of delays, though NASA officially hopes to launch an uncrewed around-the-moon Artemis One mission later this year.
It's one thing to send a spacecraft to the moon, and another to safely deliver astronauts to the moon's surface and then bring them back home.
The new spacesuits, which are meant to greatly enhance astronaut mobility and comfort compared to Apollo-era suits, are a key component for human lunar exploration.
No spacesuits, no moonwalks.
So, what about the futuristic suits worn by astronauts for the Crew Dragon mission?
Can they use it?
The answer is plain flat NO!!.
Those slick suits are just designed for use inside the SpaceX capsule, known as the Crew
Dragon, and are not suitable for use on spacewalks - let alone Moonwalk.
Their primary purpose remains the same - to protect crew members from depressurization, where the air is lost from the capsule.
The suits also ensure astronauts have sufficient oxygen and regulate their temperature.
A communications link and breathable air are provided via a single "umbilical" cable in the seat that plugs into the suit.
It’s nearly impossible to see a thin slick suit used for any kind of spacewalk.
Spacesuits need to protect the person from temperature extremes outside the walls of the spacecraft.
It is also designed to provide some shielding against micrometeorites and other small particles of space debris.
And of course, pressurization and many other instruments will make it nearly impossible to build one thin and futuristic suit which can be used for spacewalks.
Next up on DiscoverZen, we will be discussing “How Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship is the key to the success of NASA's Artemis mission?”
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