This week, the world watched in collective awe as Artemis II astronauts boarded NASA’s Orion spacecraft and stepped onto the launch pad in striking bright orange flight suits - a visual that instantly became synonymous with the historic mission. These suits aren’t just symbolic: they are carefully designed survival gear built to protect the crew during some of the most dangerous moments in spaceflight.
The Artemis II crew, made up of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are underway on a 10 day lunar flyby, the first human journey beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years.
For launch and re entry, they are wearing Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) suits colored in “International Orange,” a high visibility safety tone. This color was chosen so that, in the unlikely event of an emergency splashdown or cabin depressurization, astronauts can be rapidly located by recovery teams against the blue of ocean waters or varied terrestrial landscapes.
NASA has used orange suits for launch and entry since the early Space Shuttle era, dating back to the 1980s, because that shade of orange stands out exceptionally well in rescue scenarios, especially at sea. The tradition traces back to pressure suits developed for pilots and astronauts designed to protect against high altitude and ocean survival, which NASA adopted and refined for human spaceflight.
Unlike the white extravehicular suits worn for spacewalks or future lunar surface missions, the orange OCSS suits are built for inside craft protection, life support and emergency survival. They include integrated communications, temperature regulation, flotation devices and survival tools - effectively functioning as a personal lifeboat during critical mission phases.
What Happens to the Suits After the Mission?
After a mission like Artemis II, the orange OCSS suits don’t simply disappear. They undergo meticulous post flight inspection and refurbishment by NASA engineers. These evaluations help teams understand how materials and systems performed under stress so they can improve future suits. Some suits may be refurbished for future missions, others archived for training and historically significant ones may eventually be displayed in museums as artifacts of space exploration history.
Here is where you can see U.S. space suits, including Mercury suits, Gemini suits, Apollo suits, Space Shuttle suits as well as ISS and prototype suits:
- Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
- Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, VA
- Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Florida
- Johnson Space Center / Space Center Houston, Texas
Cost of Artemis II
NASA has not published a specific cost for Artemis II alone, but government budget analysts estimate that a typical Artemis mission launch, including the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, runs in the billions of dollars . The overall Artemis program, which encompasses rockets, spacecraft, lunar landers, ground systems and future exploration infrastructure, is projected to exceed $90 billion through the late 2020s.
Main Contractors Behind the Mission
Artemis II is the product of a vast network of aerospace expertise:
- Lockheed Martin built the Orion crew capsule, integrating life support and safety systems
- Boeing manufactures the core stage of the SLS rocket
- Northrop Grumman supplies the solid rocket boosters
- Airbus provided the European Service Module for Orion
Thousands of engineers and technicians across NASA centers in the United States and international partners ensure every component functions as planned.
This is one of our favorite “behind the scenes” movies about the 1960’s space race:
Where Musk and Bezos Fit In
High profile private space leaders like Elon Musk (SpaceX) and Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin) are not responsible for Artemis II itself, but their companies are part of NASA’s broader lunar exploration architecture. NASA has contracted SpaceX and Blue Origin on systems like Human Landing Systems that will be used for future lunar surface missions, such as Artemis III and beyond.
NASA Leadership: Jared Isaacman
As of April 2026, Jared Isaacman serves as the 15th Administrator of NASA, having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in on December 18, 2025. A controversial Trump appointment, billionaire entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Isaacman brings private spaceflight experience to NASA’s leadership.
The Prada Connection
While the iconic orange OCSS suits are NASA engineered safety gear, you may have heard of fashion house Prada in connection with astronaut gear. Prada is collaborating with Axiom Space on extravehicular mobility units (moonwalking suits) for future missions - not the orange launch suits.
The Meaning of Orange
Orange conveys more than practicality. In aerospace and rescue operations, it signals visibility, alertness and preparedness, serving both safety needs and a broader symbol of human resilience and exploration. For Artemis II, it represents the careful balance between bold ambition and meticulous engineering that defines human spaceflight today.
Artemis II Live
Using AROW, anyone with internet access can track where Orion and the crew are, including their distance from Earth, distance from the Moon, mission duration and more:
Using AROW, you can visualize data that is collected by sensors on Orion and then sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during its flight.