NASA designs new space suits for its next mission to the Moon in 2024

(CNN) -- Humans have explored the endless abyss beyond Earth's atmosphere for more than half a century.

When astronauts explore the vast expanse of outer space, they need to wear high-tech space suits to protect them from the frigid conditions of the cosmos.

Hollywood movies have glamorized the suit, which is designed to look like a suit that can be donned in a matter of minutes.

In reality, the suit is itself a fully-functioning spacecraft, taking hours to put on and requiring the help of companions, said Cathleen Lewis, curator of international space programs and space suits at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

"The purpose of the spacesuit is essentially to exist as a human-shaped spacecraft that allows the person to explore autonomously and do meaningful work outside of the comfort of the spacecraft or space station," Lewis said.

From start to finish, an astronaut can take up to four hours to get dressed, Lewis said. Before starting a spacewalk, astronauts must check each piece of equipment and make sure they have enough key supplies, like oxygen and water.

Throughout the spacewalk process, a team on Earth supports the astronauts. Flight controllers follow a procedural plan of about 30 pages, but there are other plans in case problems arise, said Sarah Korona, an EVA flight controller at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "EVA" is short for "extravehicular activity."

The Anatomy of a Space Suit

A space suit is made up of nearly half a dozen different components and can have up to 16 layers, according to NASA.

Astronauts on the Artemis mission, NASA's next program to send the first women and the first person of color to the Moon, will wear the newest spacesuit, called the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, also known as xEMU. Before the spacesuits reach the Moon, parts of them will be tested on the International Space Station.

One of the main components is the cooling garment, said Richard Rhodes, deputy director of xEMU pressure garment development at NASA. The garment is made up of tubes that circulate water around the astronaut, regulating body temperature and removing excess heat while he completes his work.

Each spacesuit is equipped with a portable life support system, including a water reservoir for the cooling garment, a carbon dioxide removal system and other items, according to NASA. This component also includes a two-way radio system so astronauts can communicate.

The original space suits used during the Apollo missions were less flexible than today's.

"When Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon, they couldn't reach down and pick up a rock," said NASA astronaut Mike Fincke. "They had to carry a special little tool with a handle."

Fortunately, spacesuits have come a long way since then and have a more flexible structure with gloves.

Gloves are one of the most complicated parts of a space suit, and are often the biggest source of complaints from astronauts about their suits, Lewis said.

"Gloves are very difficult to design to provide protection while still allowing for the manual dexterity that astronauts need to do meaningful work," he said.

Pressurized gloves can be very tight, especially after hours of work in space, he said. In addition, the fingers get cold, so it is necessary to incorporate heating elements into the gloves.

When astronauts train to go into space, one of the training exercises involves picking up a dime while wearing a space suit underwater, Lewis explained. These explorers need extreme dexterity to work in space, and gloves are an added challenge.

Much of an astronaut's spacesuit training takes place in a pool at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston. The water simulates the sensation of weightlessness, which is similar to what it feels like in space.

Scientists have experimented with different materials and have had varying degrees of success over the years. At one point, Lewis said, the researchers experimented with the kevlar tips on the gloves.

"Kevlar is very good at stopping bullets, but it's not very good at stopping knives: it cuts easily," he said.

Astronauts currently wear synthetic plastic gloves, but scientists are always looking for better options, Lewis added.

On the outside, each suit has unique colored stripes. That's how astronauts can tell who's wearing which suit when they're in space, Lewis said.

This system will be used in spacesuits for Artemis, Rhodes confirmed.

Making Space Suits for Artemis

The first step in designing a space suit is to "understand who you are designing the suit for, what you want it to be able to do, and where you want it to be able to." do it," Rhodes said.

For the Artemis program, NASA needs its astronauts to be able to safely explore the lunar surface.

Over the past four years, NASA has invested more than $300 million in the development of xEMU, Rhodes said. His team has tested dozens of components and weighed the pros and cons of each option.

The biggest challenge for Artemis suits is making sure they are optimized for lunar exploration, he explained.

Suits need to be "light enough to withstand the lunar mission and robust enough to protect the astronaut while working in a very dangerous lunar environment," Rhodes said.

Space suits for Artemis are made from thousands of parts sourced from all over the United States, according to Rhodes. Some pieces can take up to a year to build, but NASA is working to reduce this time, he added.

Space suits will also get some upgrades for the lunar mission. Current and past extravehicular mobility units, the technical term for NASA spacesuits, allow for minimal movement of the waist, hips or ankles, Rhodes said.

Astronauts on the Artemis mission need to be more mobile to explore the moon's rugged terrain, he said, so his team is working on a suit that allows more movement while still being strong enough to protect the spacecraft. user.

--CNN's Ashley Strickland contributed to this report.