NASA is opting for a simplified Sortie Suit for the initial Artemis landings.

      NASA has instructed Axiom Space to create a more straightforward Sortie Suit for the initial lunar landings, aiming to reduce both mass and complexity to meet a target for 2028. This push for simplification also led to the cancellation of the Lunar Gateway, and ESA's three guaranteed flights for European astronauts were secured against Gateway hardware.

      According to Ars Technica, Axiom Space will produce a less complex variation of the spacesuit intended for NASA's first Moon landings, known as the Sortie Suit. The goals include reducing weight, minimizing complexity, and facilitating simpler interfaces with SpaceX and Blue Origin landers. Additionally, according to Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel member Charlie Precourt, the timeline for certification requirements is also being shortened.

      Axiom is currently the sole supplier after Collins Aerospace withdrew in 2024, leading NASA leadership to meet with Axiom six days a week. The initial requirements posed challenges, including six spacewalks over 6.5 days, 210 days of dormancy, and two hours spent in permanently shadowed regions, a set of demands that NASA's inspector general deemed overly burdensome.

      All efforts are directed toward the goal of landing by 2028. Administrator Jared Isaacman has streamlined rocket production and chosen to cancel the Lunar Gateway, a move that some countries perceived as overly centered on the US. It is worth noting that this target is aspirational rather than a confirmed schedule.

      Europe's involvement comes into play with the cancellation of the Gateway, which was scrapped in March. Europe had been developing three of its modules: Lunar I-Hab, Lunar View, and Lunar Link, through Thales Alenia Space, Airbus, Redwire, and Beyond Gravity, at a cost of hundreds of millions of euros. These modules were not mere contributions but part of a barter agreement, which also included Europe's commitment to provide two additional service modules for the Orion spacecraft.

      ESA had secured three opportunities for European astronauts to travel to and work on the Gateway, under a memorandum signed in October 2020. However, with the Gateway no longer in existence, the mission for which those seats were intended has been cancelled. ESA and NASA have been in talks since March, but no replacement for the Gateway has been announced.

      Despite this, Europe continues to deliver on its commitments. It sent the Artemis IV service module this year, after years since TNW reported on European hardware that was intended to ride on a US lander that ultimately failed.

      Consequently, the simplified suits are designed for missions that will not include any European astronauts. The initial landings will be conducted using SpaceX and Blue Origin vehicles. This situation presents a dilemma for ESA's ministers rather than for Axiom, as Europe still possesses the contractors and lunar technology but lacks the mechanism that would have placed a European astronaut on the Moon.