NASA announced that it is working on a project to develop new suits for the astronauts who will be on board the International Space Station in the future.
A statement issued by the agency's press service read: "NASA has signed a contract with Collins Aerospace to develop new-generation space suits, which will be used in exit operations into open space, and intended for astronauts of the International Space Station."
According to the statement, "the value of the signed contract amounted to $97.2 million, and NASA expects Collins Aerospace to provide a ready-made version of these suits for testing in January 2024, and the contract signed between NASA and the company is supposed to continue until April 2026."
Collins Aerospace plans to make the new suits lighter than the space suits currently in use, so that the movement of astronauts will be easier. The space suits now used for exit operations into open space weigh more than 30 kg, and raise experts' concerns about the status of astronauts while wearing them.
And last March, NASA was forced to suspend the exit of its astronauts from the International Space Station to open space for a period of six months, because a high level of humidity was recorded in the American space suit of European astronaut Matthias Maurer after working outside the International Space Station, and based on the results Examination The experts concluded that the excess moisture was due to a defect in the cooling settings in the suit he was wearing during the mission, and last October NASA gave the green light again for its astronauts to go out on open space missions.