Collins Aerospace working on spacesuits going to the moon

CEDAR RAPIDS — Collins Aerospace will be working on modifying the spacesuits that astronauts will be wearing on the moon.

The $5 million “task order” with NASA allows Collins engineers to add on to the new spacesuits designed for the Artemis missions on the lunar surface.

"Our next-generation spacesuit design is nearly 90 percent compatible with a lunar mission," said Dave Romero, director of EVA & human surface mobility systems for Collins Aerospace.

The new contract will allow continued modifications to help with tasks on the moon, he said.

The new spacesuit is lower in weight and will improve astronaut efficiency, range of motion and comfort, according to a Collins news release.

Designed to fit nearly any body type, the spacesuits also have an open architecture design that allows the suit to be easily modified as missions change and evolve.

The suits will go through a design review, including a thermal vacuum test and underwater tests at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab.

Collins, the largest private employer in Cedar Rapids, is a business division of RTX.