IVAActive🇺🇸
Orion Crew Survival System
Designation: OCSS
The suit that will carry the first crew around the Moon since 1972 — orange like ACES, but with major mobility gains for long-duration lunar transit.
About This Suit
The Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) is the intravehicular activity suit designed for the Artemis program's Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by David Clark Company — the same company that built the Mercury, Gemini, LES, and ACES suits — the OCSS descends from ACES architecture but incorporates significant improvements to mobility, comfort, and long-duration wearability needed for lunar transit missions lasting up to 21 days. It features single-volume pressurization simpler than the dual-volume ACES, improved shoulder and hip mobility, and new glove bladder design rated for elevated pressure cycling. Artemis I (2022) flew two instrumented mannequins named Campos and Helga wearing OCSS suits. Artemis II will carry the first crewed Orion — including the first woman and first person of color on a lunar mission — currently targeted for 2026.
Key Features
- 1Descends from ACES heritage but redesigned for 21-day lunar transit duration
- 2Single-volume pressurization (simpler, more reliable than ACES dual-volume)
- 3Improved shoulder and hip mobility vs. ACES — more natural movement during transit
- 4Custom-fitted to each Artemis crew member individually
- 5Orange coloration maintained for search-and-rescue visibility tradition
- 6Integrated parachute harness, flotation, and survival equipment for ocean splashdown
Historic Missions
2022
Artemis I
Mannequins Campos and Helga wore OCSS suits on first uncrewed Orion mission to the Moon and back
2026
Artemis II (targeted 2026)
First crewed Orion — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen — first humans in deep space since Apollo 17
👨🚀 Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen
Engineering & Research Highlights
- ◆Single-volume pressurization development simplified suit performance verification vs. ACES dual-volume system
- ◆Artemis I mannequin radiation data informs OCSS material optimization for deep-space cosmic ray exposure