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NASA shows off patriotic new spacesuits for moon and Mars astronauts

If you like the colors red, white and blue, you'll love NASA's new moonwalking look.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read
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A spacesuit engineer shows off a prototype of NASA's xEMU suit for Artemis mission moonwalks.

Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

NASA astronauts will be strolling the moon in patriotic style. 

The space agency broadcast a demonstration of new spacesuit designs for the Artemis moon mission at a Tuesday press conference, where NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine hosted a dramatic catwalk-style unveiling of the new suits. 

Watch this: NASA unveils new next-generation spacesuits

The public event showcased two prototypes. The orange Orion Crew Survival System suit is meant to be worn during launch and reentry on board the Orion spacecraft. The red, white and blue Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) is for moonwalking. 

Bridenstine made sure to point out these spacesuits will fit astronauts of all body types, a reference to when NASA had to scrub the first planned all-female spacewalk due to not having enough spacesuit sizes available on the ISS.  

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This Orion survival suit will protect astronauts for up to six days in case the spacecraft depressurizes.

NASA

NASA dropped some details about the xEMU suits earlier in October, highlighting the maneuverability of the design and the advances made since the Apollo era. 

The Apollo astronauts of the '60s and '70s sometimes fell over while out moonwalking. The new suits will allow astronauts to bend at the knees, lift objects over their heads and fully rotate their arms.

A NASA spacesuit engineer wore the xEMU on stage with the suit under pressure. She showed off her ability to reach across herself, wiggle her fingers, and squat down to pick up a rock off the floor. 

Astronauts on the moon will expect to spend up to eight hours at a time wearing these suits outside on the moon.

The orange survival suits won't see any lunar-surface duty. They're designed to provide life support for up to six days in case of an emergency on the spacecraft.

NASA is building the first Artemis spacesuits and intends to deliver the finished suits by 2023. The space agency plans to hand off later spacesuit production to private industry.

The spacesuit demonstration had a pep rally feel as Bridenstine promoted NASA's ambitious timeline for getting the first woman and the next man (or perhaps two women) to the moon by 2024. 

The space agency sees Artemis as more than a token stroll on the lunar surface. NASA wants to develop a sustainable human presence on the moon and use it as a jumping-off point for deeper explorations into the solar system. Mars is on the menu for the future.

Long before these Artemis-style suits see any Mars duty, they'll have to prove themselves on the moon. If NASA sticks to its 2024 schedule, we may soon enough be watching high-def video of these US flag-colored spacesuits on astronauts bouncing across the moon.

Beyond Apollo: See NASA aim for the moon with Artemis 2024

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Originally published Oct. 15, 12:23 p.m. PT.