
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. walks on the surface of the Moon near a leg of the Lunar Module during the Apollo 11 EVA. Armstrong also took this picture with the 70-mm lunar surface camera. Note footprints in the foreground.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. deployes the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSE) on the Moon's surface near Tranquility Base. The sensitive instrument remained behind on the lunar surface to radio back information concerning moonquakes, landslides and meteorite impacts.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - Surrounded by Man's footprints on the lunar surface, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. erects a solar wind experiment near the Tranquility Base established by the Lunar Module, Eagle.

Josh Litofsky leads a Gateway lunar dust adhesion testing campaign at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. His team studies how lunar dust interacts with materials chosen for Gateway's construction. Here, Litofsky scoops lunar stimulant into a sample holder. Litofksy’s work seeks to validate the Gateway On-orbit Lunar Dust Modeling and Analysis Program (GOLDMAP), developed by Ronald Lee, also of Johnson Space Center. By considering factors such as the design and configuration of the space station, the materials used, and the unique conditions in lunar orbit, GOLDMAP helps predict how dust may move and settle on Gateway’s external surfaces.

This photograph was taken during the testing of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) at the Johnson Space Center. Developed by the MSFC, the LRV was the lightweight electric car designed to increase the range of mobility and productivity of astronauts on the lunar surface. It was used on the last three Apollo missions; Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - A view of the Earth appears over the lunar horizon as the Apollo 11 Command Module comes into view of the Moon before astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. leave in the Lunar Module, Eagle, to become the first men to walk on the Moon's surface.
/jsc2024e063104 (2)~medium.jpg)
Josh Litofsky leads a Gateway lunar dust adhesion testing campaign at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. His team studies how lunar dust interacts with materials chosen for Gateway's construction. Here, Litofsky carefully positions a sample holder inside a vacuum chamber. Litofksy’s work seeks to validate the Gateway On-orbit Lunar Dust Modeling and Analysis Program (GOLDMAP), developed by Ronald Lee, also of Johnson Space Center. By considering factors such as the design and configuration of the space station, the materials used, and the unique conditions in lunar orbit, GOLDMAP helps predict how dust may move and settle on Gateway’s external surfaces.

Astronaut John W. Young, Apollo 16 prime crew commander (right), takes a drive in the One-G Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) trainer in the Lunar Topgraphic Simulation area at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). He is accompanied by John Omstead, with General Electric, MSC.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - Man's first landing on the Moon was accomplished at 4:17 p.m. today as Lunar Module "Eagle" touched down gently on the Sea of Tranquility on the east side of the Moon. Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot, removes scientific experiment packages from a stowage area in the Lunar Module's descent stage. Left behind on the lunar surface by Aldrin and Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, were a Passive Seismic Experiments Package and a Laser-Ranging Retro-Reflector.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - Apollo 11 Onboard Film -- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot, descends the steps of the Lunar module ladder as he prepares to walk on the Moon. He had just egressed the LM. This picture was taken by astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, with a 70-mm lunar surface camera during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine talks via satellite with Andrea Mosie, Apollo sample laboratory manager, and NASA astronaut Stan Love from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during a event where it was announced that nine U.S. companies are eligible to bid on NASA delivery services to the lunar surface through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The companies will be able to bid on delivering science and technology payloads for NASA, including payload integration and operations, launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon. NASA expects to be one of many customers that will use these commercial landing services. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine talks via satellite with NASA astronaut Stan Love from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during an event where it was announced that nine U.S. companies are eligible to bid on NASA delivery services to the lunar surface through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The companies will be able to bid on delivering science and technology payloads for NASA, including payload integration and operations, launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon. NASA expects to be one of many customers that will use these commercial landing services. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

S75-23543 (April 1972) --- This Apollo 16 lunar sample (moon rock) was collected by astronaut John W. Young, commander of the mission, about 15 meters southwest of the landing site. This rock weighs 128 grams when returned to Earth. The sample is a polymict breccia. This rock, like all lunar highland breccias, is very old, about 3,900,000,000 years older than 99.99% of all Earth surface rocks, according to scientists. Scientific research is being conducted on the balance of this sample at NASA's Johnson Space Center and at other research centers in the United States and certain foreign nations under a continuing program of investigation involving lunar samples collected during the Apollo program.

Rob Morehead, lead propulsion engineer for Intuitive Machines in Houston, delivers the monthly Tech Talk on Oct. 24 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Morehead presented Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander, which will deliver payloads to the surface of the Moon for government and commercial customers, including NASA. Intuitive Machines was selected by the agency as one of the companies for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Service program. Nova-C currently has five NASA payloads and two commercial payloads manifested for its first flight, slated to launch in 2021. It will reach the Moon six days after launch and operate on the lunar surface for 12 days. Morehead worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for 20 years before joining Intuitive Machines.

S71-17609 (4 Feb. 1971) --- These two individuals are examining a seismic reading in the Mission Control Center's ALSEP Room during the Apollo 14 S-IVB impact on the moon. Dr. Maurice Ewing (left) is the director of the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory at Columbia University. David Lammlein, a Columbia graduate student, is on the right. The Apollo 14 Saturn IVB stage impacted on the lunar surface at 1:40:54 a.m. (CST), Feb. 4, 1971, about 90 nautical miles south-southwest of the Apollo 12 passive seismometer. The energy release was comparable to 11 tons of TNT. Dr. Gary Latham of the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory is the principal investigator for the Passive Seismic Experiment, a component of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package.

Technicians prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission for packing inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. MSolo will be shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for integration into VIPER. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the CLPS initiative.

Technicians prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission for packing inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. MSolo will be shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for integration into VIPER. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the CLPS initiative.

The Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission is prepared for packing inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. MSolo will be shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for integration into VIPER. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the CLPS initiative.

Technicians prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission for packing inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. MSolo will be shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for integration into VIPER. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the CLPS initiative.

jsc2024e076628 – Tess Caswell, a crew stand-in for the Artemis III Virtual Reality Mini-Simulation, executes a moonwalk in the Prototype Immersive Technology (PIT) lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The simulation was a test of using VR as a training method for flight controllers and science teams’ collaboration on science-focused traverses on the lunar surface. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

The seismometer reading from the impact made by the Apollo 15 Saturn S-IVB stage when it struck the lunar surface is studied by scientists in the Mission Control Center. Dr. Gary Latham (dark suit, wearing lapel button) of Columbia University is responsible for the design and experiment data analysis of the Passive Seismic Experiment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP). The man on the left, writing, is Nafi Toksos of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Looking on at upper left is Dave Lamneline, also with Columbia.

S70-24012 (19 Jan. 1970) --- Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, participates in lunar surface simulation training at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Haise is attached to a Six Degrees of Freedom Simulator.

S70-28229 (16 Jan. 1970) --- Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., commander of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, participates in lunar surface simulation training at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Lovell is attached to a Six Degrees of Freedom Simulator. He is carrying an Apollo Lunar Hand Tools carrier in his right hand.

Jim Kania (left), Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) software engineering lead, and Pri Johnson, MSOLO systems engineer, participate in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

Jim Kania (left), Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) software engineering lead, and Pri Johnson, MSOLO systems engineer, participate in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

Pri Johnson (left), Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) systems engineer, and Jim Kania, MSOLO software engineering lead, participate in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) Systems Engineer Pri Johnson participates in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

Technicians from Johnson Space Center, dressed in flight suits, secure themselves inside a prototype of a crew transportation vehicle (CTV) for Artemis crewed missions outside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 11, 2022. Canoo Technologies Inc., was awarded a contract to design and provide the next generation of CTVs for the Artemis crewed missions. Representatives with Canoo were at the spaceport demonstrating the environmentally friendly fleet of vehicles. Artemis II will be the first Artemis mission flying crew aboard Orion. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

Technicians from Johnson Space Center, dressed in flight suits, secure themselves inside a prototype of a crew transportation vehicle (CTV) for Artemis crewed missions for a test drive near the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 11, 2022. Canoo Technologies Inc., was awarded a contract to design and provide the next generation of CTVs for the Artemis crewed missions Representatives with Canoo were at the spaceport demonstrating the environmentally friendly fleet of vehicles. Also in view near the vehicle’s door is Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell Thompson, and at left, is Anthony Aquila, chief executive officer of Canoo Technologies Inc.. Artemis II will be the first Artemis mission flying crew aboard Orion. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

Technicians from Johnson Space Center, dressed in flight suits, secure themselves inside a prototype of a crew transportation vehicle (CTV) for Artemis crewed missions outside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 11, 2022. Canoo Technologies Inc., was awarded a contract to design and provide the next generation of CTVs for the Artemis crewed missions. Representatives with Canoo were at the spaceport demonstrating the environmentally friendly fleet of vehicles. Artemis II will be the first Artemis mission flying crew aboard Orion. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

Melissa Jones, NASA Landing and Recovery Director for Exploration Ground Systems, participates in an Artemis I detailed mission briefing inside the Press Site auditorium at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 5, 2022. Jones leads the Artemis I Recovery Team partnered with the U.S. Navy that will recover the Artemis I Orion crew module from the Pacific Ocean after splashdown. Also participating in the briefing from NASA’s Johnson Space Center were Debbie Korth, Orion program deputy manager; Rick LaBrode, lead Artemis I flight director; Judd Frieling, Artemis I ascent/entry flight director; Reid Wiseman, chief astronaut; and Philippe Deloo, Orion European Service Module program manager, European Space Agency. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test to test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone before venturing to Mars.

Melissa Jones, NASA Landing and Recovery Director for Exploration Ground Systems, participates in an Artemis I detailed mission briefing inside the Press Site auditorium at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 5, 2022. Jones leads the Artemis I Recovery Team partnered with the U.S. Navy that will recover the Artemis I Orion crew module from the Pacific Ocean after splashdown. Also participating in the briefing from NASA’s Johnson Space Center were Debbie Korth, Orion program deputy manager; Rick LaBrode, lead Artemis I flight director; Judd Frieling, Artemis I ascent/entry flight director; Reid Wiseman, chief astronaut; and Philippe Deloo, Orion European Service Module program manager, European Space Agency. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test to test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone before venturing to Mars.

A boot that's part of a NASA lunar surface spacesuit prototype is readied for testing inside a thermal vacuum chamber called CITADEL at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Nov. 8, 2024. The thick aluminum plate at right stands in for the frigid surface of the lunar South Pole, where Artemis III astronauts will confront conditions more extreme than any previously experienced by humans. Built to prepare potential future robotic spacecraft for the frosty, low-pressure conditions on ocean worlds like Jupiter's frozen moon Europa, CITADEL (Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory) has also proven key to evaluating how astronaut gloves and boots hold up in extraordinary cold. It can reach temperatures as low as low as minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 223 degrees Celsius), approximating conditions in permanently shadowed regions that astronauts will explore. Figure A, showing the outer boot sole, was taken from inside CITADEL on Nov. 13, 2024. The boot is positioned in a load lock, one of four small drawer-like chambers through which test materials are inserted into the larger chamber. Initiated by the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the boot testing took place from October 2024 to January 2025. The boot is part of a NASA spacesuit called the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU. Results haven't yet been fully analyzed. In addition to spotting vulnerabilities with existing suits, the experiments are intended to help NASA develop this unique test capability and prepare criteria for standardized, repeatable, and inexpensive test methods for the next-generation lunar suit being built by Axiom Space. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26592

Virtual Intelligent Planetary Exploration Rover, VIPER Mobility Platform Testing An engineering model of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is tested in the Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. About the size of a golf cart, VIPER is a mobile robot that will roam around the Moon’s South Pole looking for water ice in the region and for the first time ever, actually sample the water ice at the same pole where the first woman and next man will land in 2024 under the Artemis program. The large, adjustable soil bin contains lunar simulant and allows engineers to mimic the Moon’s terrain. Engineers from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the rover was designed and built, joined the Glenn team to complete the tests. Test data will be used to evaluate the traction of the vehicle and wheels, determine the power requirements for a variety of maneuvers and compare methods of traversing steep slopes. Respirators are worn by researchers to protect against the airborne silica that is present during testing. VIPER is a collaboration within and beyond the agency. NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley is managing the project, leading the mission’s science, systems engineering, real-time rover surface operations and software. The rover’s instruments are provided by Ames, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and commercial partner, Honeybee Robotics in California. The spacecraft, lander and launch vehicle that will deliver VIPER to the surface of the Moon will be provided through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, delivering science and technology payloads to and near the Moon.

Robotics technologist Brendan Chamberlain-Simon, left, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and spacesuit engineer Zach Fester of the agency's Johnson Space Center adjust a thermal vacuum chamber called CITADEL at JPL on Nov. 12, 2024, before testing an astronaut boot inside the chamber. Built to prepare potential robotic explorers for the frosty, low-pressure conditions on ocean worlds like Jupiter's frozen moon Europa, CITADEL (Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory) has also proven key to evaluating how astronaut gloves and boots hold up in extraordinary cold. It can reach temperatures as low as low as minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 223 degrees Celsius), approximating extreme conditions Artemis III astronauts will confront in permanently shadowed regions of the lunar South Pole. The boot testing was initiated by the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program at NASA Johnson and took place from October 2024 to January 2025. The boot is part of a NASA spacesuit called the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU. Test results haven't yet been fully analyzed. In addition to spotting vulnerabilities with existing suits, the experiments are intended to help NASA develop this unique test capability and prepare criteria for standardized, repeatable, and inexpensive test methods for the next-generation lunar suit being built by Axiom Space. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26593

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, is photographed during thermovacuum training in Chamber B of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory, Building 32, Manned Spacecraft Center. He is wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit. The training simulated lunar surface vacuum and thermal conditions during astronaut operations outside the Lunar Module on the moon's surface. The mirror was used to reflect solar light.