The Real Suits
Our five figures follow sixty years of spacesuits: the Apollo A7L worn on the Moon, the Shuttle-era Manned Maneuvering Unit, the EMU used for spacewalks on the Shuttle and ISS, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon suit and the orange Orion Crew Survival System that the Artemis II crew wore on their flight around the Moon in April 2026.
Facts checked October 2026 · sources below
Key facts
| Apollo A7L | Moonwalks, Apollo 11–14 (A7LB on 15–17) |
|---|---|
| MMU | Jetpack, three Shuttle missions in 1984 |
| EMU | Spacewalks, Shuttle (from 1983) and ISS |
| Crew Dragon suit | Launch and re-entry, crewed since 2020 |
| Orion OCSS | Launch and re-entry, Artemis II (2026) |
Famous moments
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon in A7L suits. Twelve people have walked on the Moon in Apollo suits.
First spacewalk in the Shuttle EMU, in Challenger’s payload bay.
Bruce McCandless makes the first untethered spacewalk, flying the MMU.
A mannequin called Starman rides a Tesla Roadster into space wearing the SpaceX suit.
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley become the first astronauts to fly in the SpaceX suit.
The first crew to fly around the Moon since 1972 launches in the orange OCSS.
Records & firsts
FAQ
So the crew is easy to spot in the ocean if they ever have to leave Orion before the recovery team arrives.
Bruce McCandless, on 7 February 1984, during Space Shuttle mission STS-41-B.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon suit, two years before astronauts first flew in it.
Twelve astronauts, on Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17.
The past
Custom models & B2B
