NASA to develop simplified Sortie Suit with Axiom Space for 2028 Moon landing

September 3, 2026 at 12:37 AM2 min

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NASA has directed Axiom Space to develop a simplified Sortie Suit variant for initial Artemis lunar surface missions. The decision, announced internally this week, aims to accelerate a landing at the Moon's south pole as early as 2028. The suit will be used on landers built by both SpaceX and Blue Origin.

Key Facts

NASA will work with Axiom Space to develop a Sortie Suit variant of the planned lunar spacesuit.
The Sortie Suit will be used for initial landing missions flown on landers developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The initiative aims to lower spacesuit mass, reduce complexity, and simplify interfaces with lunar landers.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has already streamlined SLS production, canceled Lunar Gateway, and worked with SpaceX and Blue Origin to accelerate Artemis.
Axiom Space became the sole spacesuit provider after Collins Aerospace dropped out in 2024.

Sortie Suit Development

At the direction of Artemis Program Manager Jeremy Parsons, NASA will work with Axiom Space to develop a Sortie Suit variant of the planned spacesuit for the lunar surface. Sources said the Sortie Suit will be used for the initial landing missions flown on landers developed both by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Among the goals of the initiative are to lower the mass of the spacesuit, reduce its complexity, and simplify interfaces between the spacesuits and lunar landers.

Artemis Acceleration

Since arriving at NASA in December 2025, Administrator Jared Isaacman and his team have been reviewing the agency's Artemis Program, which had fallen significantly behind schedule. Isaacman has already made major changes, including streamlining production of the Space Launch System rocket, canceling the Lunar Gateway, and working aggressively with SpaceX and Blue Origin. NASA awarded spacesuit development contracts to Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace about four years ago, but Collins dropped out in 2024, leaving Axiom as the sole provider.