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Spacesuit delays make it 'not feasible' for astronauts to get to moon by 2024

Home Launch
Posted at 4:26 PM, Aug 10, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-10 18:26:15-04

In a new report, NASA said their plan of getting astronauts to the moon by 2024 "isn't feasible" due to delays in developing spacesuits.

In the report, NASA Inspector General Paul K. Martin said the two suits wouldn't be ready until April 2025 "at the earliest."

Although the space agency will have spent more than $1 billion on the spacesuits once they are completed, Martin said they are "years away from completion."

The delays were caused by funding shortfalls, COVID-19 impacts, and technical challenges, Martin said.

According to the report, 27 different companies are supplying the components for the suit.

Previously, NASA contracted with two companies, Hamilton Standard and ILC Dover, to build the spacesuits it currently uses on the International Space Station, The Verge reported.

Space X's Elon Musk took to Twitter to offer his opinion on the matter in response to the news.

"Seems like too many cooks in the kitchen," Musk said.

In another tweet, Musk added that "SpaceX could do it if need be.”