As a part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, the crew of the Orion capsule are using 3M™ PELTOR™ ComTac™ VI Tactical Headsets for communication. Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed mission of the Artemis program which sent four astronauts on a lunar flyby. It’s part of the space agency’s work to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and prepare for future missions to Mars. The crew launched on April 1 and will splashdown April 10 in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego.
3M’s PELTOR ™ ComTac™ VI Headsets feature technologies that can help enable communications in challenging environments. Their omnidirectional environmental microphones can sense surrounding sounds, amplify weak sounds to an audible level and automatically compressing loud noise to help users stay aware of what’s happening around them. The headset boom microphone uses noise-canceling technology that transmits the user’s voice while filtering out background noise, keeping speech clear even in high noise environments.
This isn’t the first time 3M products have made their way into a NASA mission.
3M Glass bubbles were used to insulate NASA’s 1.25-million-gallon liquid hydrogen storage tank at Kennedy Space Center, which helped support the launch of the Artemis II mission. NASA selected the hollow glass microspheres after more than 20 years of testing for their high strength, low density and low thermal conductivity, which help limit liquid hydrogen boiloff as cryogenic tanks expand and contract. The improved insulation allows NASA to store fuel longer and support consecutive launch attempts, a key capability for sustained Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
In 1969, 3M products were used by astronauts in the first moon landing, including 3M™ Fluorel™ Elastomer, a synthetic rubber used in the astronaut’s boots worn inside the space capsule.