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Published 10:14 03 Apr 2026 GMT
Why Artemis II astronauts are wearing orange space suits on historic trip to the moon
The crew of the recently-launched Artemis II spaceship were seen setting off yesterday on the first mission beyond low Earth orbit since 1972.
The mission comprises of a ten-day flyby around the Moon and the back to earth.
The four crew members - Reid Wisemen, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen - were seen sporting some very fetching (and eye-catching) orange spacesuits as they went to embark on Artemis II.
All four of the crew actually made history, too - Glover is the first person of color, Koch the first woman, Wisemen the oldest person, and Hansen the first Canadian and non-US citizen to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
But there's actually a very important reason why they were wearing suits of this specific color for their historic trip.
Why are the Artemis II astronauts wearing orange space suits?
The bright orange color of the astronauts' space suits is, actually, basically a safety precaution.
The color actually has its own name - "international orange" - and is specifically designed to make astronauts highly visible if they need to be rescued in an emergency. The color itself has been used in every space launch and re-entry since 1981.
But there's also a specific bright blue straps attached to each of the Artemis suits, designed to help rescuers get early and visible points to grab on the astronauts in the event of an emergency.
Survival in times of emergency will be on the crew members' mind too - all Apollo and Gemini astronauts were trained in the Panama jungles and Nevada deserts to teach them the tools they'd need to survive in the worst of circumstances.
Similarly, the Artemis suits are also equipped for survival. They have myriad pockets stuffed with food, a knife, flotation devices, signal mirrors and all the basic survival supplies you'd need.
Why are we launching Artemis II?
Artemis II is a test flight that will hopefully support the launch of the so-called Artemis program.
The program has the intention of returning humans to the surface of the Moon in 2028 for the first time since Apollo 17.
Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the Moon, which took place in 1972. The ultimate aim of the program is to establish a permanent human base on the Moon (projected right now to take place sometime in the 2030s), using this as a stepping stone to the hopeful eventual progress of humans into deep space missions.