The National Aeronautics and Space Administration recently announced its agreement with Oceaneering International Inc. for building the first new set of space suits since the 1970s. This is considered to be a brand new step in the American space program and it has been highly anticipated for some time now.

The space suits or as they are also referred to, Extra-Vehicular Activity or EVAs, are being manufactured under the name of Constellation Space Suit Mission the results of the initial $184 million investment are expected to show in September 2014 at the latest.

Oceaneering will engage in the development of the space suits needed for the Orion spacecraft launch and re-entry and also for the contingency Extravehicular Activity. The contract also refers to the upcoming lunar mission and its badly needed upgraded gears. The previous moon missions demanded a solution solely for the weightlessness scenario and the operations scheduled for the new missions require a new class of lighter-weight suits which will allow bending and also offer high maneuverability.

The general features of the new CSSS include an efficient operational activity, a simple maintenance and of course, highly reliable materials.

Oceaneering International Inc. is based in Houston, Texas and was founded in 1964. The company deals with applied technology, offering engineering services and hardware for several domains such as marine and space environments. NASA’s decision to work with Oceaneering came as a surprise to some, as Hamilton Sundstrand, a division of United Technologies in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, was considered to be the first pick.

“We’re ready to put them to work and to put boot prints back on the Moon,” said Mr. Glenn Lutz, the manager of the space suit project, according to the New York Times. “We’ve got a long way to go to get there,” he added.