SpaceX recently unveiled new spacesuits for the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission, marking a significant innovation in the field of space exploration and future space colonization. The company announced that the crew will don specially designed extravehicular activity (EVA) suits for the historic five-day journey, which will include the first commercial spacewalk. Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, emphasized the importance of these suits in preparing for ambitious goals like building bases on the Moon and cities on Mars.
The design and use of these suits on spacewalks are crucial steps toward a scalable design for future long-duration missions, essential for multiplanetary life. Jared Isaacman, billionaire and founder of Shift4Life, initially announced the Polaris program in February 2022 but faced challenges in developing new EVA suits. The main challenge was designing a suit that allows for agile movement despite pressurization. This marks a significant advancement in space technology and paves the way for new possibilities in space exploration and colonization.
The launch of the Polaris Dawn mission is scheduled for no earlier than summer 2024. Musk revealed that these suits are a modified version of Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suits currently used onboard Dragon spacecraft during SpaceX missions. This will be the first time this technology will be deployed in low Earth orbit. The development of these suits represents a major milestone in SpaceX’s quest to make humans a multiplanetary species.