--- title: "Elon Musk Offers to Make Spacesuits for NASA" description: "Suit Up NASA’s lunar-grade spacesuits won’t be ready for the first landing on the Moon in 2024, according to a recent audit by the agency’s Office of Inspector General. “Given these anticipated delays in spacesuit development, a lunar landing in late 2024 as NASA currently plans is not feasible,” the report reads. But there may […]" date: "2021-08-10" modified: "2021-08-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-make-spacesuits-for-nasa" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "NASA" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Offers to Make Spacesuits for NASA ![SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offered to help design a spacesuit for NASA's upcoming crewed missions to the Moon. But will SpaceX be able to deliver by 2024?]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Suit Up NASA's lunar-grade spacesuits won't be ready for the first landing on the Moon in 2024, according to a [new audit]() by the agency's Office of Inspector General. "Given these anticipated delays in spacesuit development, a lunar landing in late 2024 as NASA currently plans is not feasible," it reads. But there may be a glimmer of hope, if SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has anything to do with it. "SpaceX could do it if need be," Musk [wrote in a tweet]() responding to the audit. Is Musk making empty promises? It [wouldn't be the first time](). But, as the audit shows, NASA is still struggling to meet its own ambitious deadlines — and it's possible that it will have to leverage the help of the private space industry whether it likes to or not. ## SpaceX Duds SpaceX has already designed spacesuits that have been worn on [several missions into space]() — but the [sleek black-and-white duds]() aren't designed for extra-vehicular space walks, nevermind navigating the hostile surface of another world. NASA is already leveraging private industry players to design a suit that could be ready by 2024. In July, the agency published a draft request for proposal (RFP), asking companies to come up with "commercially built spacesuits and support services for spacewalks on the International Space Station," according to a [recent statement](). But why is NASA's spacesuit so behind schedule? According to the audit, the cost of developing and testing the suit is soaring and is expected to rise to a total of over $1 billion by 2025. The Office of Inspector General also blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for delays. SpaceX is already deeply involved in NASA's efforts to return to the Moon. The company was [recently awarded]() a $2.9 billion contract to design a lunar lander variant of its Starship spacecraft to ferry NASA astronauts to the lunar surface. Whether they will be wearing suits designed by SpaceX remains unclear. After all, designing such a suit is an extremely complex task, as NASA has demonstrated. **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk offers for SpaceX to make NASA spacesuits, after watchdog says program to cost $1 billion]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on SpaceX:** *[Elon Musk-approved Render Shows Two Starships, uh, Exchanging Fluids]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()