NASA’s lunar-grade spacesuits might not be ready for the first landing on the lunar surface in 2024, as per a new audit by NASA’s Office of Inspector General. “Given these anticipated delays in spacesuit development, a lunar landing in late 2024 as NASA currently plans is not feasible,” it reads.
But there might be a solution to this issue if SpaceX CEO Elon Musk does something about it. “SpaceX could do it if need be,” Musk tweeted in response to the audit. This could be another instance where Musk has promised something and won’t deliver.
SpaceX spacesuits might be used
But, as per the audit, NASA won’t be able to meet the deadlines of its mission, and there’s a possibility that it will seek help from private space firms whether it likes it or not. SpaceX already has spacesuits that were used during several missions to space; however, they aren’t designed for extra-vehicular spacewalks, let alone the moving around on surfaces of other worlds.
The space agency is already asking private firms to design a suit that could be ready by 2024. In July, the company published a draft request for proposal (RFP), asking firms to make “commercially built spacesuits and support services for spacewalks on the International Space Station,” NASA said in a statement.
But what’s the reason behind NASA missing the schedule? As per the audit, the cost of making and testing the suit is surging and is expected to hit over $1 billion by 2025. The Office of Inspector General also said that the COVID-19 pandemic also caused delays.
SpaceX and NASA working closely
SpaceX is already working closely with the space agency for its Artemis mission that will put humans back on the Moon. The company was also won a huge $2.9 billion contract to develop a lunar lander version of its Starship spacecraft to carry NASA astronauts to the Moon.
SpaceX was also awarded a contract that will enable the company to launch an orbiter to one of Jupiter’s icy moons – Europa. Whether the astronauts will be sporting SpaceX spacesuits is still unclear. Developing such suits isn’t an easy task, as the space agency has demonstrated.
