The spacesuit that walked twelve humans on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. Built by ILC Dover with 21 protective layers, the A7L represented the pinnacle of 1960s pressure garment engineering — enabling astronauts to explore the lunar surface for up to 7 hours per EVA during the Apollo programme.
The Apollo A7L (and its upgraded variant, the A7LB) was the spacesuit worn by astronauts during the Apollo programme from 1968 to 1975. Manufactured by ILC Dover (International Latex Corporation) with life support systems by Hamilton Standard, the suit was a masterpiece of 1960s engineering that had to protect humans in the most hostile environment ever explored — the lunar surface.
The A7L consisted of 21 layers of materials including neoprene-coated nylon for the pressure bladder, Teflon-coated Beta cloth for fire protection, aluminised Mylar for thermal insulation, and Chromel-R stainless steel fabric for micrometeorite protection. The suit weighed approximately 91 kg on Earth but only about 15 kg in the Moon's 1/6th gravity.
On the lunar surface, the suit was paired with the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack, providing approximately 7 hours of oxygen, CO₂ scrubbing, cooling and communications. Twelve astronauts performed EVAs on the Moon across six landing missions (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17), spending a total of about 80 hours outside on the surface.
One of the biggest challenges was lunar dust — the fine, abrasive regolith that clung to everything via electrostatic charge. Dust degraded suit seals, scratched visors and was nearly impossible to remove. This remains one of the key engineering challenges for the Artemis-era AxEMU, which must contend with even finer dust at the lunar south pole.