China unveils next-gen lunar spacesuits ahead of 2030 moon landing

China’s spaceflight agency has unveiled new images of its lunar spacesuits that will be worn during crewed moon missions.

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) shared first-look images of the exterior of the red and white suit last Saturday (September 28). 

The suit has been designed to help China reach its goal of landing astronauts on the moon before 2030. 

CMSA went on to say that – as yet – the suit doesn’t have a name and the agency is currently welcoming suggestions for what it should be called. 

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The spacesuits are designed to handle the tough lunar environment

The new suits were showcased in a video which featured astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping – the second Chinese woman in space. 

According to CMSA, the new unnamed suits have a special protective fabric that offers protection against lunar dust and the harsh thermal environment astronauts will encounter on the moon.

While the chest area houses a high-tech multi-functional control console on the chest. Fancy.

Alongside a large anti-glare visor, the suit’s helmet is kitted out with long and short focus cameras. 

“The suit allows for more actions. So in various postures, the fitness shouldn’t be affected after a posture change,” Wang Chunchi, deputy chief designer at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, told China Central Television.

“Therefore it requires a better fit on the human body.”

The suits offer better ‘ergonomic support’ for astronauts 

“Considering that they are working under one-sixth gravity, in order to reduce the metabolic load of the human body, it is a must to greatly reduce the suit’s weight,” Chunchi added. 

“As astronauts will walk on the lunar surface and carry out scientific research activities, the spacesuits must have better ergonomic support capabilities, and be smaller and more integrated.”

The launch of the new suits comes just weeks after SpaceX trialed its new extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit on the groundbreaking Polaris Dawn mission. 

“The EVA suit provides greater mobility, external, a state-of-the-art helmet heads-up display and camera, new thermal management textiles, and materials borrowed from Falcon’s interstage and Dragon’s trunk,” according to details shared about the Polaris Dawn mission.

As well as being a chance to test the new EVA suits, Polaris Dawn will earned itself a spot in the history books as the first-ever privately funded spacewalk. 

The new suits have a ‘state-of-the-art helmet heads-up display and camera’, which was able to beam incredible footage of the spacewalk back down to Earth.