NASA is developing a new spacesuit with a built-in cooling system to help astronauts withstand unfiltered sunlight on the Moon.
In a new video released by NASA, astronauts are seen walking in space aboard the International Space Station wearing suits while receiving cold water from the device inside.
NASA hopes their suits will be able to protect astronauts from the moon’s temperatures, which can reach a boiling point of 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius or 400 K) during the day at the lunar equator.
While the concept of an integrated cooling system dates back to the 1970s on Apollo missions, the US space agency has added additional new features to suits that can withstand harsh sunlight.
According to NASA, the new spacesuit is equipped with a pressure sensor, a thermal control loop to maintain the set temperature, and has the ability to release warm water vapor into space.
“While NASA builds commercial partnerships to improve spacesuit technology as part of the Artemis program, Evaporation Rejection Flight Experiment (SERFE) payload testing continues on the International Space Station,” NASA wrote in the caption of the clip.
According to NASA, the latest cooling technology is being tested for the upcoming Artemis mission, which is scheduled to take place in 2025. The program aims to return humans to the moon.
In 2025, Artemis 3 will take humans to the moon with the first women and people of color to reach the lunar surface.
The crew will land near the moon’s south pole, which is believed to contain large amounts of ice.
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