Artemis IV: New Liquid Cooling Suit for Lunar Return

Picture a spacesuit as a wearable climate system. When astronauts step off a lander and into lunar sunlight, their bodies keep producing heat. Too much of it turns an exploration dream into a dangerous sweat trap. Axiom Space has unveiled a new liquid cooling and ventilation garment that will sit under NASA's AxEMU suit during the planned human return to the Moon on Artemis IV in 2028.

How the system works and why it matters

The garment—known as an LCVG—channels chilled water through a network of tubing laid close to the astronaut's skin. That moving water carries away metabolic heat, preventing overheating during extravehicular activity. It also contains a ventilation pathway: fresh oxygen is routed up to the helmet while exhaled carbon dioxide is guided back toward the suit's scrubber and life-support systems. A backup cooling circuit is included in case the primary loop fails, addressing a key safety concern absent from older designs.

Short. Simple. Effective. That combination matters on the Moon, where temperature extremes and heavy exertion can make long EVAs risky. The LCVG is a low-profile layer but plays an outsized role in mission success, enabling longer surface operations and more ambitious science.

From concept to fielded garment

Axiom Space previously partnered with Prada on the AxEMU’s aesthetic and mobility features, and the new LCVG builds on that practical design work. The organization has also supported experimental concepts such as the BioSuit, developed by MIT’s Dava Newman with architect Guillermo Trotti. Where BioSuit experiments pursue ultra-fitted, pressure-based suits, the LCVG is a pragmatic addition compatible with current hard-shell systems.

Technically, the innovation is not just tubing and pumps. Engineers must balance flow rate, thermal exchange, weight, and compatibility with life-support plumbing. They must also prevent dust intrusion and ensure easy donning and doffing during mission timelines. All of these constraints shape the final garment worn beneath AxEMU.

This cooling layer could make lunar EVAs safer and longer.

As Artemis crews rehearse surface operations, thermal control systems like the LCVG will quietly decide how much science can be done on each excursion. The garment may seem modest. In reality, it is a force multiplier: small mass, big payoff—more time on the ground, more samples, more discoveries.