Starship and spacesuits for lunar mission Artemis III will not return to Earth, but will remain permanently orbiting the Moon

We wrote that Axiom Space unveiled a prototype spacesuit that will be used for the Artemis III moon landing mission in late 2025. Turns out the space suits won't be returning to Earth.

Here's What We Know

Landing on Earth's natural satellite will be more complicated than many people imagine. If you thought astronauts would board a ship, fly to the moon, land, do research and return home, that's not quite the case.

The Artemis III mission will use two spacecraft at once, Orion and Starship from Lockheed Martin and SpaceX, respectively. The astronauts will travel to the moon on Orion, while Starship will deliver the spacesuits. Two astronauts in orbit will transfer from Orion to Starship and travel to the lunar surface.

After landing, they will don their spacesuits and begin their missions. At the end of the mission, the pair of astronauts will take Starship to the Orion spacecraft, which will be waiting for them in lunar orbit. They will make another transfer and return to Earth.

Due to weight restrictions, the astronauts will not be able to take home Axiom Space suits. Although there is a possibility that small items can be taken with them. Gloves, for example. The space suits will remain on Starship. The SpaceX ship itself won't be able to return to Earth either. The reason here is a lack of fuel. Starship will remain permanently in orbit around the Moon.

Source: space