China releases external design of lunar-landing spacesuit

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Saturday released the external design of China's spacesuit for lunar landing.

The agency said that the general technology scheme for the spacesuit has been established after multiple key breakthroughs were made since 2020, when its research and development started.

Based on these breakthroughs, the production and test verification of initial spacesuit samples are being carried out in an all-round manner.

The research and development of the lunar-landing spacesuit focuses on comprehensive protection in complex environments, with the aim of achieving qualities including light weight, miniaturization, high safety and reliability.

A video released by the CMSA shows that the spacesuit uses integrated protective fabric and offers effective protection in the lunar thermal environment and against lunar dust.

It has joint configuration for a low gravity environment to enhance the mobility of Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, and has safe and efficient gloves with increased flexibility and protection.

The spacesuit is equipped with multi-function integrated console, long and short focal length cameras, as well as a panoramic anti-glare window.

The lunar-landing spacesuit was released during the third Spacesuit Technology Forum held in southwest China's city of Chongqing, at which an interplanetary exploration spacesuit creative design competition for college and middle school students was also launched.

China's extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) spacesuit is named "Feitian," which means "flying into space." It has helped taikonauts to conduct 17 extravehicular activities.

The agency said that the first public appearance of China's lunar-landing spacesuit shows the phased achievements of China's manned lunar exploration mission, and also reveals that China's spacesuit technology has entered a new stage of development.