NASA has made a decision to double its options for new spacesuits on the International Space Station and for future Artemis astronauts to use while walking on the Moon. With companies to provide designs suitable for extravehicular activities such as spacewalks.

Axiom will now redesign its moon suit so that it can also be used for International Space Station operations, while Collins will evaluate and modify the design of its suit to make it capable of operations on the lunar surface. NASA officials said each company will receive $5 million for the work.

“Our next-generation spacesuit design is approximately 90 percent compatible with the Moon mission,” Dave Romero, director of Collins Aerospace, said in a statement following NASA’s announcement, adding, “The award of this formal contract will support ongoing efforts to modify the next-generation spacesuit, making it suitable for missions on the moon.”

The new mission orders should also help spur new suit innovations through competition between the two companies, while providing a backup plan for NASA in case one of the suit designs runs afoul of.

The two companies will now begin modifying their suit designs to adapt them for operation in the two vastly different environments of low Earth orbit and the lunar surface.

Also, once these initial designs are on paper, NASA will review and evaluate the two designs and decide whether one or both of them will be given permission for further development. Once the company’s suit design is accepted by NASA, the company will then be tasked with developing an operational suit, including Extensive safety testing and a final flight demo in low Earth orbit and on the Moon.

The spacesuit ultimately chosen by NASA will remain in use until 2034, and NASA expects to issue follow-up mission orders for suit modifications as needed to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the new suits.