Spacewalk suits are decades old. NASA just canceled plans for new ones due

The iconic puffy white suits worn by astronauts during spacewalks outside the International Space Station are in need of replacement. NASA has ended contracts worth over $100 million with a longtime partner, Collins Aerospace, to develop next-generation spacesuits. The decision was made because Collins realized that their development timeline would not align with NASA’s mission objectives and the space station’s schedule. It remains unclear if NASA will renew or replace the plans for new spacesuits. Axiom Space, another company with a NASA contract, is developing suits for the moon but it is unknown if they can be repurposed for the space station. SpaceX is also working on their own spacesuit design for future missions. NASA plans to retire the space station in the next few years, while Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has only guaranteed participation until at least 2028.