China is aiming to put its first citizens on the moon by 2030, and it’s just unveiled the newly designed spacesuit they’ll be wearing when they perform the historic feat.
Revealed by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) at a special ceremony in Chongqing at the weekend, the red and white suit has been designed to safely deal with the moon’s harsh conditions, which include extreme temperatures, radiation, and highly abrasive dust.
A technician appeared on stage in the new spacesuit, performing an array of movements and gestures that demonstrated what looked to be a comfortable degree of mobility — even with gravity very much weighing it down. The suit is designed to be more lightweight and much more flexible than the one Chinese taikonauts are currently using for spacewalks at its facility in low-Earth orbit. NASA and its commercial partners are also working on developing a more flexible suit, with a new design tested by Jared Isaacman during last month’s Polaris Dawn mission.
China’s new spacesuit also features a panoramic antiglare visor and a console that connects an audio and video communication system.
At the end of the demonstration, Yang Liwei, who became China’s first space traveler in a mission in 2003, launched a public campaign to name the new spacesuit — though don’t expect Suity McSuitface to emerge as the winner.
NASA first landed humans on the moon in 1969 and continued to do so in several missions until 1972 as part of the Apollo program. Now the American space agency is again intent on returning a crew to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program. Following a number of delays, NASA is currently targeting September 2026 for a mission that will put the first woman and first person of color on the moon. However, with further delays possible, NASA could end up in a tight race with China as they vie to become the first to perform the 21 century’s first crewed lunar landing.