Axiom, Collins Aerospace Receive NASA Task Orders to Continue Spacesuit Development

NASA has awarded Axiom Space a $5 million task order to work on a spacesuit for use in low Earth orbit. The space agency also awarded Collins Aerospace a task order worth the same amount for the same purpose, except the spacesuit Collins will develop will be used on the surface of the moon.

The tasks were issued under the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services contract, which was initially awarded in 2022.

NASA gave Collins and Axiom until 2034 to develop the necessary capabilities for spacewalking and moonwalking.

Such efforts will support the agency’s Artemis program, the long-term goal of which is to send astronauts to Mars.

Lara Kearney, manager of Johnson Space Center’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program, said the task orders provide NASA with options to procure additional capabilities to meet deep space exploration and LEO commercialization objectives. She added that having a competitive arrangement between Axiom and Collins improves redundancy and supports the space economy.

NASA could exercise follow-on task order options after each company achieves certain development milestones. The process will culminate in the flight demonstration stage, which will involve a spacewalk or moonwalk, NASA said.