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- [Kevin] This is TechModo,

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a Gizmodo series where we take a dive

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into some of the most recent tech news

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with some expert guests.

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This week, Gizmodo reporter
Passant Rabie talks to me

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about the new spacesuits
that astronauts will wear

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on their return to the Moon.

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One small step for man and
one giant leap for mankind.

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NASA has completely redesigned
its iconic space suits

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ahead of the agency's return to the Moon

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as part of the Artemis program,

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which kicked off with the launch

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of the un-crewed Artemis I
spacecraft this past November.

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While NASA is gearing up
for a crewed Artemis mission

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in November 2024,

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those astronauts will not be touching down

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on the surface of the Moon.

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Astronauts aboard Artemis III,

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scheduled for launch in December 2025,

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will be landing on the lunar south pole,

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and they're gonna need some space suits

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to survive the harsh
conditions found there.

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NASA just revealed those suits last week,

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and Passant Rabie has here
to tell us all about that.

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Welcome to Techmodo.

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- Thank you! I'm so excited to be here!

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- We're so excited to have you.

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You're a fellow Gizmodian,

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- I am.
- As we call them.

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I am really excited to
have you on because NASA

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has quite the reveal recently.
- Yeah.

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- They have unveiled the new space suits,

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- Mm, hmm.
- or moon suits,

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I believe they're called.

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I wanna know a little bit more about them,

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so can you tell me what's
new about these moon suits,

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what's gone, and what
are the key features?

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- Cool. So these are called

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the Axiom Extravehicular
Mobility Unit Suits.

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- [Kevin] Nice, rolls
right off the tongue.

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- A-X-E-M-U for short, or
Aximoo if you want to call them.

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- Cool.
- Yeah.

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So these new suits are designed

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for the Artemis missions to the Moon.

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They are way more flexible
than the ones before them.

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You can like bend down,

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pick something up from
the surface of the Moon.

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So they give astronauts more mobility

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on the surface of the Moon.
- [Kevin] Nice.

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- They have little flashlights
on the side of the helmet.

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They have a high definition camera.

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- [Kevin] Oh, how very cool.
- I'm so excited

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to see the footage.

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Like imagine
- [Kevin] Yeah.

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- high definition footage
from Moon is gonna be so cool.

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They have a backpack with
astronaut life support system.

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- Okay.
- Yeah cause you kind of

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need those.

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- You need to breathe.
- Yeah.

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- Survive.
- You gotta breathe.

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- Yeah. Right.

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- And they actually support astronauts

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for eight hours instead of six.

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- Oh wow, okay.
- Which is like

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what the current suits do.

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- Nice.

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- Yeah.

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- So what was the motivation

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for NASA to redesign these
suits in the first place?

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I guess what was wrong
with the older suits?

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- There was nothing like
technically wrong with older suits

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but they were just like very old.

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- They were like.
- They were vintage.

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- Super vintage.
- Yeah.

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- [Rabie] They have been
around for more than 40 years

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and recently there have been some issues

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with like water leaking
in the suits on the ISS.

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- [Kevin] Oh, okay.
- I wouldn't say that's like

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that's what was wrong with the suits.

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They just like needed to be updated.

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- [Kevin] Yeah.
- And the new suits

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reflect the, the advancement in technology

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that's been
- [Kevin] Got it.

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- happening over the last 40 years.

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And especially because NASA now wants to

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send astronauts back to
the moon for, you know

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the last time that they did that was more

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than 50 years ago with Apollo.
- Yeah.

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- So this is now the Artemis generation

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so this is the suits for
the Artemis generation.

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- [Kevin] Okay, cool.

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I love that.

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And so now I saw a picture

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of the suits in they're gray
orange, I think Navy blue.

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Is that correct?

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- Yes.

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- Is that the final colors that we're

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gonna see prancing around

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on the surface of the moon?

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- It's not.
- Oh, okay.

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- When I first saw them, I was like.

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- They're kinda sleek.

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- I know.
- Yeah.

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- I kinda like them.
- Yeah.

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- I'm like, okay

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I see it, I see the vision,
but it's actually not.

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- Okay.
- It's not. That's not what

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they're going to look like.
- So what're we

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getting instead then?

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- Yeah, so essentially this is like kind

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of like a jacket,

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like a cover for this suit
- [Kevin] Oh.

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- to protect them.

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- [Kevin] Okay.

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- While they do training on the ground.

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- [Kevin] Okay.

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- And it's also to protect the technology

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like sensitive information
- [Kevin] Got it.

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- with the technology that's
being used on the suits.

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- Okay, cool.

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So what are the final colors gonna be?

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- They're gonna be white.

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- Oh, okay.

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So classic NASA moon suit.

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- Right.
- Okay.

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- [Rabie] And it's also better
just for like astronauts

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on the moon to wear white.
- [Kevin] Right.

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Okay, cool.

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And then you mentioned it was Axiom?

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- [Rabie] Yes.

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- Are they the people
who are making the suits?

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- Yeah. So Axiom Space are the ones

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that are making the suit.

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It's, it is like a design collaboration

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between Axiom and NASA.
- [Kevin] Okay.

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- It's just like another
example of NASA leaning

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on his commercial partners
to um, for space innovation.

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And NASA's kind of like
renting the suits from Axiom

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for the moon.
- [Kevin] Oh, okay.

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- But Axiom can actually
still, like other people can go

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to Axiom and use the same suits.

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- [Kevin] Sure.
- That's why

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they're like protecting
them with this cover.

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- I see, okay.
- Because it's like

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intellectual property.
- Okay.

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So it's a collaboration.

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So maybe we'll get a a NASA
X Fenty sometimes soon.

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- Oh my god. Imagine.

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- That'd be fun.

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I'd like to see it.

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So the suits have been unveiled.

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When can we see them on
the surface of the moon?

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- [Rabie] So right now they're working

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towards a tentative launch date somewhere

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in 2025
- [Kevin] Okay.

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- where astronauts will actually get

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to land on the moon.
- [Kevin] Nice.

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- But until then, the
astronauts will be using them

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on the International Space Station.

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- Oh great.

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- So kind of using them like a,

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like a test, using the ISS
as a test bed for them.

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- Okay.
- But the ones on the moon

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will have different boots
and different gloves.

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- Okay, cool.

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And that's Artemis 3?

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- Yes.
- That mission?

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- Artemis 3.
- Okay.

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Awesome. Cool.
- Yeah.

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- Thank you Passant.

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- You're welcome.
- Thanks for joining us today.

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- Thank you.

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(both laughing)

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- I don't have any plans to
add to the moon anytime soon.

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But these suits look absolutely sick.

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I am really excited to see
humanity back on the moon.

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And as Passant pointed out

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I'm also really giddy
to see that first person

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video recorded from the
cameras on the moon suits.

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