Astronaut Space Suits Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Astronaut Space Suits Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Astronaut Space Suits Market is projected to register a CAGR of more than 2% during the forecast period (2022 - 2027).

The COVID-19 pandemic had a minor impact on the space industry, and consequently, the impact on the astronaut space suits market was relatively low. Although the progress in the space exploration activities halted for a brief period in 2020, most of the activities resumed by the end of the year, and no major delays in space programs were witnessed in the year 2021.

The increasing investments in deep space human exploration programs by countries like United States, China, India, and Russia, are anticipated to generate demand for space suits during the forecast period. Also, the development of new and advanced spacesuits with advanced materials for low weight and enhanced mobility is expected to accelerate the growth of the market in the coming years.

The EVA suits segment currently dominates the market and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. The extravehicular activities (EVA) are generally the spacewalks taken by the astronauts for activities like planetary exploration, repairing the satellites, and other extremal activities on the space station. The EVA suits (Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suits) are more sophisticated and provide environmental protection, communications, mobility, and life support for astronauts. The development of new spacesuits for human space exploration programs is anticipated to propel the growth of the segment in the coming years. For instance, in June 2022, NASA announced a new partnership with the industry for new spacewalking and moonwalking services. NASA has selected Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to provide astronauts with next-generation spacesuit and spacewalk systems to work outside the International Space Station, explore the lunar surface on Artemis missions, and prepare for human missions to Mars. Despite several developments across various space agencies, the demand could be minutely impacted by certain emergency events that are occurring during the external spacewalks being conducted. For instance, in March 2022, an astronaut of the European Space Agency ended the spacewalk due to a faulty EVA suit, raising concerns over its safety. Such incidents might force the players to increase their investments into the R&D of the space suits in the years to come.

The Asia-Pacific region of the market is anticipated to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific countries like China, Japan, and India, among others, are moving ahead with their human space exploration plans to send humans for planetary exploration in the coming years. China, under its human space exploration program, planned to construct and operate a space station in low earth orbit (LEO). The country plans to complete the construction of the space station by 2024. Furthermore, the China National Space Administration also announced to carry out human exploration of the moon by the 2030s. Also, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced to send four astronauts for its human mission planned to be launched in 2022. For this launch, ISRO developed a new spacesuit (prototype unveiled in September 2018) for the astronauts, with one oxygen cylinder carrying capacity. Such space exploration programs are anticipated to generate demand for IVA suits and EVA suits in the coming years. International collaborations for space suit manufacturing are expected to further increase the opportunities to open a wide range of users for space suits. For instance, in September 2020, India partnered with Russia for the production of manned space suits for the Gaganyaan moon mission of the country. Furthermore, live testing of the suits has also been witnessed in order to better develop the suits. Also, China, in November 2021 performed the first Shenzhou 13 spacewalk where the astronauts were asked to test the suits to carry out various tasks to assist the outpost’s future function in orbit. Several such developments from the Asia Pacific region are expected to drive the market during the forecast period.

The astronaut space suits market is significantly consolidated, with the presence of a limited number of vendors and buyers. Some of the prominent players in the astronaut space suit market are Collins Aerospace (Raytheon Technologies Corporation), Final Frontier Design, The Boeing Company, David Clark Company, and NPP Zvezda. The space organizations, as well as the manufacturing companies, are developing new spacesuits for the astronauts with advanced materials, better communications systems, and enhanced mobility. The growing demand for human space exploration programs and the growth in focus on collaboration between the players to develop advanced space suits suited to specific missions are expected to help the companies expand their global presence in the coming years.

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