News Science NASA's New Spacesuits Will Take Astronauts to the Moon and Mars By Ben Bolton Ben Bolton Writer University of Georgia Ben Bolton has covered athletics for several universities. He has since embarked on a career as a digital editor, creating media campaigns for major brands. Learn about our editorial process Updated October 17, 2019 This story is part of Treehugger's news archive. Learn more about our news archiving process or read our latest news. Share Twitter Pinterest Email News Environment Business & Policy Science Animals Home & Design Current Events Treehugger Voices News Archive NASA is planning to go to the moon again in 2024, and the astronauts on board will be donning the newly unveiled xEMU spacesuit. The name stands for Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, which will include the latest technology, allowing the astronauts to safely explore the lunar South Pole. The future voyage to the moon will include the first woman to make the trek to the lunar surface. A second orange spacesuit was also unveiled; it will be used for launch and re-entry aboard NASA's Orion Spacecraft. The suits were developed as part of the Artemis project. The team behind them is already working on modifications for a possible trip to Mars. The new spacesuits come about, in part, because of size limitations with existing suits — in fact, that's what caused the cancellation the first all-female spacewalk at the International Space Station. Luckily, that issue was resolved and the all-female spacewalk is back on! The xEMU has been designed for improved comfort, fit and mobility. It even has interchangeable parts for working in space and working on the moon. The developers behind the spacesuit say the Mars' edition will eventually include a feature for life support. These will be the first spacesuits worn on the moon since NASA's Apollo program in 1972. NASA also released information on a new space launch system that could support up to 10 missions to help achieve the goal of astronauts going to the moon and to Mars. "It is urgent that we meet the President's goal to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, and SLS is the only rocket that can help us meet that challenge," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "These initial steps allow NASA to start building the core stage that will launch the next astronauts to set foot on the lunar surface and build the powerful exploration upper stage that will expand the possibilities for Artemis missions by sending hardware and cargo along with humans or even heavier cargo needed to explore the Moon or Mars."