Elon Musk said Tuesday that SpaceX can develop spacesuits for National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s 2024 Moon mission "if need be.”
What Happened: Musk, who serves as CEO of both Tesla Inc TSLA and SpaceX, made the comment while responding to a tweet by CNBC space reporter Michael Sheetz.
Sheetz pointed to the $420 million already spent on suit development and another $625 million expected to be spent on it, citing NASA’s Inspector General.
SpaceX could do it if need be
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 10, 2021
Tom Mueller, a founding employee of SpaceX who is known for his engineering work on SpaceX rocket engines in turn noted that SpaceX “developed Falcon 9 and cargo Dragon for less than $1B.” Musk responded to Mueller with a “Yeah.”
Why It Matters: NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley wore SpaceX’s new spacesuits on board the first commercial spaceflight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft in May 2020.
See Also: NASA Awards Musk's SpaceX $2.9B For Starship Lunar Lander
At the time, Hurley said that the fitted spacesuits were “actually much easier to get in and out of in zero G,’ as per a Space.com report.
Notably, the suits that the duo wore are not designed for spacewalks but can be used for backup during launches and landings.
On Tuesday, Sheetz asked Musk if SpaceX has a team working on EVA suits — the kind that can be used for spacewalks. He did not respond as of press time.
Last month, SpaceX received a $178 million contract from NASA for its mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa, as per Reuters.
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