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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The spacesuits are not on the schedule NASA originally set, and no firm delivery date has been announced. NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported in an April 20, 2026 audit that the first demonstrations for the lunar suit and the microgravity suit, planned for 2025 and 2026, had slipped by at least 18 months. As of January 2026, the contractor, Axiom Space, was working toward late-2027 demonstrations, with substantial testing and qualification still ahead. The OIG’s 2031 figure is a conditional comparison with past NASA programs, not a forecast. The sections below separate what NASA reported about its own progress from what the OIG concluded about schedule and contract risk.
What NASA is buying: a spacewalking service, not a suit
NASA’s next-generation spacesuits are being developed through a program called Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services, or xEVAS. The name matters. Under this approach NASA buys spacewalking services from a commercial provider rather than purchasing suits as ordinary government equipment. The provider builds and operates the suits, and NASA buys the work once the suits have been demonstrated.
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NASA’s earlier description of the model, from 2023, says the agency keeps authority over astronaut training, mission planning, and approval of the service systems. That oversight is part of the arrangement, so a delay in the suit is also a delay in the point at which NASA can start buying the service.
How the xEVAS contracts are structured
The OIG describes xEVAS as a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, milestone-based contract arrangement with a combined maximum value of $3.1 billion. That figure is a ceiling on the two contracts, not money spent to date. NASA selected two providers to promote competition and redundancy, and the model calls for NASA to buy services after initial demonstrations.
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The OIG concluded that this structure carried risk for an early-stage development effort. A fixed-price arrangement assumes the work is well enough understood to price in advance, and next-generation spacesuits are not. The OIG also found that requiring each bidder to pursue both the lunar and microgravity suits narrowed the pool of potential providers.
Who is still in the program
Two task orders were issued in late 2022. The OIG’s figures are below.
| Provider and suit | Task order | Date awarded | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axiom Space, lunar suit (AxEMU) | $228 million, for development and demonstration | September 2022 | Active; the OIG describes Axiom as the sole active provider of both suit types |
| Collins Aerospace, microgravity suit | $97 million, for development through critical design review | December 2022 | Removed by mutual agreement in June 2024, after Collins determined its timeline would not support the ISS demonstration schedule |
The practical result is concentration. With Collins out, Axiom is the only company under xEVAS working on either suit, which means a single provider’s test program now carries the schedule for both the lunar and the station suits.
How far the schedule has moved
The original plan called for lunar suit demonstrations in 2025 and microgravity suit demonstrations in 2026. The OIG assessed both schedules as overly optimistic and said both had slipped by at least 18 months. The table compares the original and current figures reported in the audit.
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| Suit | Original demonstration | Working target reported by the OIG | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunar suit (AxEMU) | 2025 | Late 2027, as of January 2026 | A working target from the contractor, not a final NASA commitment |
| Microgravity suit | 2026 | Not stated in the OIG report | Collins’s effort was removed in June 2024; Axiom is the only active provider |
The OIG also stressed that significant testing and qualification remained and that additional technical challenges could arise. A working target is only as firm as the test results that follow it, and the test results for the lunar suit are still in progress.
What the 2031 figure does and does not mean
The 2031 number is the one most often repeated, so it is worth reading exactly how the OIG built it. The audit compared the original xEVAS development periods, 3.4 years for the lunar suit and 3.8 years for the microgravity suit, with an 8.7-year historical average. That average covers the time from contract award to test flight for recent NASA spaceflight programs. The OIG also noted that excluding commercial cargo programs would raise the average to 10.2 years.
| Measure | Duration | Source and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Original xEVAS development period, lunar suit | 3.4 years | OIG comparison, April 2026 audit |
| Original xEVAS development period, microgravity suit | 3.8 years | OIG comparison, April 2026 audit |
| Historical average, contract award to test flight | 8.7 years | Recent NASA spaceflight programs, per the OIG |
| Same average excluding commercial cargo programs | 10.2 years | Recent NASA spaceflight programs, per the OIG |
The OIG’s scenario is that if Axiom’s delays followed that historical pattern, demonstrations might not happen until 2031. The report explicitly says it is not projecting a 2031 readiness date. It is a conditional what-if built from past programs, and it should be reported that way. NASA has not announced 2031 as a delivery or demonstration date.
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NASA’s February 12, 2026 update on the AxEMU describes development milestones, and it is distinct from the OIG’s audit. According to that update:
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- Axiom completed a contractor-led technical review of the suit. NASA said it would conduct its own required review and assess readiness, and that review had not been reported as complete.
- The suit had logged more than 850 hours of pressurized testing with a person inside.
- Underwater and simulated lunar-gravity testing were underway.
None of these steps is final qualification, certification, or flight readiness. They show the suit is being tested with people in it, which is an important step, but they do not close the remaining evaluation. NASA describes its teams evaluating users at different suit pressures and in simulated lunar gravity, and says it keeps technical and safety oversight.
Lara Kearney, manager of NASA’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program, said in the update: “This achievement reflects our shared commitment to deliver a safe, capable lunar spacesuit that will enable astronauts to explore the Moon’s surface.” The OIG report includes no separate named inspector quotation; its findings are attributed to the Office of Inspector General as an institution.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the suits connect to the Artemis timeline
The lunar suit is needed for astronauts to work on the Moon’s surface, and the OIG says it must integrate with Artemis systems, including the Human Landing System. That is why the schedule matters beyond the suit program itself.
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GAO’s 2026 assessment of NASA’s major projects independently describes changes to the focus of Artemis III, IV, and V and notes acquisition-management challenges as projects adjust. Taken together, the two reports show a mission sequence being reshaped while the suit is still in testing, rather than a single delay in one component.
Two suits, two different deadlines
The lunar suit and the microgravity suit serve different purposes and face different pressures.
- Lunar suit (AxEMU): needed for surface operations on the Moon, tied to the Human Landing System and the Artemis landing timeline.
- Microgravity suit: needed for spacewalks outside the International Space Station, which the audit lists as planned for decommissioning in 2030. Replacing or supplementing the aging station suits before retirement is the driver here.
Because Collins was removed in June 2024, the station suit now depends on the same provider as the lunar suit. That concentration is the reason the OIG treats the two schedules as a single risk.
The OIG’s acquisition critique, and how to weigh it
The OIG judged that a firm-fixed-price, service-based approach conflicted with the developmental nature and risks of next-generation spacesuits. It also judged that requiring bids on both suit types narrowed an already limited pool of applicants, and it described NASA’s efforts to keep multiple providers as having mixed results.
These are the audit’s judgments, and they should be presented as the OIG’s position. Readers should not treat them as an uncontested engineering verdict. The OIG is assessing contract design and schedule risk; NASA is describing what it has tested and what it still has to review. Both can be accurate at the same time.
What to watch next
- NASA’s own readiness review of the AxEMU, which NASA said it would conduct after the contractor-led review.
- Whether Axiom’s late-2027 working target is confirmed, revised, or replaced in later NASA or OIG updates.
- Any change to the Artemis III and Artemis IV plans, since the 2027 and 2028 dates are described as plans rather than commitments.
- Progress on the microgravity suit, for which the audit does not state a current demonstration date.
The figures here reflect the OIG’s April 2026 audit and NASA’s February 2026 update. Developments after those dates are not covered.
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