Yahoo Sports A Personal Submarine or a Stylish Space Suit: Which Is Better for an Otherworldly Journey?
In 2025, NASA’s Artemis III mission will attempt to land astronauts on the moon. The crew will be wearing the new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, the first redesign in orbital fashion in over four decades, which—dare we say—offers more style than its predecessor. But what if you’re an explorer with more Earth-bound aims? Dutch company U-Boat Worx has started delivering its Nemo 2 personal submarine—a 2022 Robb Report Best of the Best winner—which allows you to traverse the ocean all on your own. Both were designed to preserve life in environments where mere minutes of exposure would be deadly, but which works harder to keep you going?
FROM THE SHOWROOM TO THE FIELD More from Robb Report
The display model had a plain white exterior and black leather seats. But it’s the views from the inside that count—and you can upgrade both packages for about $18,000. | FROM THE SHOWROOM TO THE FIELD Esther Marquis, costume designer for the Apple TV+ space drama For All Mankind, made an eye-catching black version for NASA’s unveiling press conference. The real astronauts will wear white suits to reflect heat from the sun. |
WHAT’S IT WEIGH? 5,510 pounds At roughly the size of two Jet Skis, it’s the first personal submarine that you can tow by a large SUV or pickup truck.  Supplied | WHAT’S IT WEIGH? 121 pounds The suit is way too heavy to wear under the pull of Earth’s gravity. Luckily for the astronauts, it’ll feel more like 20 pounds on the moon. |
WHAT’S IT GOOD FOR EXPLORING? Coral reefs. Shipwrecks. The underside of your yacht.  Borisov Igor/Stock Adobe | WHAT’S IT GOOD FOR EXPLORING? The moon’s (potential) water sources. Mars.  Sasa Kadrijevic/Stock Adobe |
UNDER PRESSURE The atmospheric pressure at 330 feet underwater is 10 bars. A world-record-holding scuba diver could handle it, but most people start getting uncomfortable past 2.5 bars. | UNDER PRESSURE The atmospheric pressure on the moon is about 14 orders of magnitude less than that of the Earth’s surface. In that environment, the water that makes up 60 percent of your body would begin to evaporate. |
SPEED The sub can go to 3 knots—a little faster than your average swimmer. And you don’t even have to raise your heart rate. | SPEED An astronaut can run up to 33 mph on the lunar surface in a well-designed suit—about 10 times faster than the Nemo 2.  Art Gallery/Stock Adobe |
PLAY TIME The Nemo 2 allows eight hours of undersea exploration. Enough time to encounter a few fish species between lunch and sundowners.  Gavin Newman | PLAY TIME The AxEMU allows eight hours of space exploration. Enough time to collect rocks, take sample readings, and wish astronauts were allowed to drink cocktails in space. |
HOW LONG WOULD YOU LAST WITHOUT IT? Professional free divers can hold their breath for up to 10 minutes—the rest of us are more likely to last between 30 and 90 seconds. | HOW LONG WOULD YOU LAST WITHOUT IT? After taking off the suit, you’d have a few minutes to experience a very unpleasant death. While the views would be metaphorically breathtaking, the vacuum of space would pull all the air out of your lungs. Gulp. |
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