China displays Lunar mission spacesuit, opens to naming

The Chinese Manned Space Agency unveiled the design of its spacesuit for the lunar landing mission and opened the name-giving process to public participation. The official unveiling ceremony took place yesterday, on Saturday, as part of the third Spacesuit Technology Forum held in Chongqing, according to China Daily.

According to the agency, the design is comprised of subtle traditional art and exemplifies the spirit of courage and Chinese people’s spirit of exploration. Red stripes on the upper arm are inspired from the ribbons of the Dunhuang famous “flying apsaras” while on the lower limbs similar to rocket launch flames.

The material that the construction is made of allows this to give safety to the astronauts while going through the really challenging conditions which make up the lunar environment, from vacuum and extreme hot and cold temperatures, radiation, and dust. The control panel is multi-functional, user-friendly and placed in an integrated way with cameras that shoot near and far scenes. In addition to this, the protective suit comes accessorized with flexible and reliable gloves, panoramic glare-proof visor on the helmet, and engineered joints for low-gravity conditions.

It will allow astronauts who wear it to walk, climb, drive, and conduct scientific experiments on the lunar surface. The agency described the suit as light in weight; compact; highly reliable; and, most important, extremely safe.

So far, China has developed two types of space suits: one for use within the spacecraft and the other for extravehicular activity, which includes spacewalks. The country aims to send its first manned lunar mission by around 2030. For this, advanced hardware is being developed: a crewed lunar lander, a new crew spacecraft, and a lunar operations-specific suit.

According to Yang Yuguang, a senior space industry analyst and vice-chair of the Space Transportation Committee at the International Astronautical Federation, spacesuits should boast good resistance to the adverse lunar dust and be lightweight, as missions are expected to stretch on the lunar surface for many hours.

“Preparing for a moon walk is quite a complex process involving multiple steps. It is crucial that for each space walk, astronauts maximize the time spent outside their landing craft; therefore, the design has to prioritize reducing their physical burden,” Yang explained.