CaliToday (01/12/2025): Deep beneath the surface of a 6.2-million-gallon pool in Texas, history is being rehearsed. NASA astronauts are currently conducting critical underwater tests of the next-generation lunar spacesuits, a major milestone as the agency accelerates its timeline to return humans to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.
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| NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara kneels to pick up a rock while testing the mobility of Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuit. September 2025. (NASA) |
With the Artemis II launch now just months away (scheduled for April 2026), the activity at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston has reached a fever pitch. While Artemis II will orbit the moon, these underwater simulations are laying the groundwork for the main event: Artemis III, the mission that will see boots hit the lunar dust in 2027.
The New Armor: Enter the AxEMU
The suits being tested are a far cry from the bulky, rigid garments worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Known as the AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit), these next-gen suits are designed by commercial partner Axiom Space.
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| NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara (left) and Stan Love (right) pose for a photo during the first dual spacesuit run at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory while wearing Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuits. September 2025. (NASA) |
Engineers and astronauts are using the buoyancy of the pool to simulate the Moon's one-sixth gravity environment. The testing focuses on capabilities that were impossible during the Apollo era:
Enhanced Mobility: Unlike the "bunny hopping" movement required in the 1960s due to rigid joints, the AxEMU allows astronauts to walk naturally, bend, twist, and kneel.
Universal Fit: The suits are designed to accommodate a much wider range of body types, ensuring inclusivity for a diverse corps of astronauts.
Complex Tasks: Underwater rehearsals involve collecting geological samples, navigating uneven terrain, and using advanced scientific tools.
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| Left: Axiom Space’s AxEMU spacesuit underwater during testing of its pressure garment system at NASA Johnson’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. September 2025. (Axiom Space) Right: NASA and Axiom Space teams held the first dual spacesuit run at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston on September 24, 2025 with NASA Astronauts Stan Love and Loral O’Hara wearing Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuit. September 2025. (NASA/James Blair) |
A Critical Milestone: The "Dual-Suit" Run
NASA recently celebrated a significant breakthrough: the first-ever dual-suit integrated run.
Veterans Loral O’Hara (fresh from the International Space Station) and Stan Love donned the weighted mock-ups simultaneously. This test was crucial for analyzing how two astronauts coordinate movements and assist one another while suited up—a vital dynamic for the safety of future moonwalkers exploring the lunar South Pole.
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| Axiom Space astronaut and Chief Technology Officer Koichi Wakata holds up an American flag in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory during the first crewed underwater test of Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuit. September 2025. (NASA) |
"We aren't just testing a suit; we are testing a system," a NASA spokesperson explained. "Seeing two astronauts operate together in these units gives us the data we need to finalize the life-support systems for the lunar surface."
The Road to 2026 and Beyond
While the suit testing looks toward the 2027 landing, the world is currently watching the countdown to Artemis II.
Scheduled to launch in April 2026, this mission will send a crew of four on a 10-day journey around the Moon to validate the Orion spacecraft's life-support systems. The crew, selected in 2023, represents a new face of space exploration:
Reid Wiseman (Commander)
Victor Glover (Pilot, set to be the first person of color on a lunar mission)
Christina Koch (Mission Specialist, set to be the first woman on a lunar mission)
Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist, the first Canadian aimed for the Moon)
From the Moon to Mars
NASA has made it clear that these underwater tests are about more than just the Moon. The Artemis program is the "proving ground" for the ultimate horizon: Mars.
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| Axiom Space’s AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) spacesuit being tested at NASA Johnson’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. September 2025. (Axiom Space) |
The technologies being refined in the Houston pool specifically the durability of the AxEMU suits against abrasive dust and their life-support reliability will form the blueprint for the equipment used when humanity eventually takes its first steps on the Red Planet.
For now, however, all eyes are on the water, where the next giant leap for mankind is being practiced, one step at a time.
Thế Anh
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