Extravehicular activity (EVA) is one of the most dangerous activities of human space exploration. To ensure astronaut safety and mission success, it is imperative to identify and mitigate the inherent risks and challenges associated with EVAs. As we continue to explore beyond low earth orbit and embark on missions back to the Moon and onward to Mars, it becomes critical to reassess EVA risks in the context of a planetary surface, rather than in microgravity. This review addresses the primary risks associated with EVAs and identifies strategies that could be implemented to mitigate those risks during planetary surface exploration. Recent findings within the context of spacesuit design, Concept of Operations (CONOPS), and lessons learned from analog research sites are summarized, and how their application could pave the way for future long-duration space missions is discussed. In this context, we divided EVA risk mitigation strategies into two main categories: (1) spacesuit design and (2) CONOPS. Spacesuit design considerations include hypercapnia prevention, thermal regulation and humidity control, nutrition, hydration, waste management, health and fitness, decompression sickness, radiation shielding, and dust mitigation. Operational strategies discussed include astronaut fatigue and psychological stressors, communication delays, and the use of augmented reality/virtual reality technologies. Although there have been significant advances in EVA performance, further research and development are still warranted to enable safer and more efficient surface exploration activities in the upcoming future. As humans travel back to the Moon and eventually to Mars, future spacesuits will encounter additional obstacles during EVA in planetary environments. Considering only a few surface EVAs occurred over the entirety of the Apollo program, the anticipated increase in EVA quantity will require robust spacesuits capable of long-endurance planetary mission scenarios. Spacesuit design encompasses both material selection of the spacesuit, which is important to consider for radiation shielding and dust mitigation, as well as all the internal systems that support the regulation and monitoring of physiological health such as hypercapnia prevention, thermal control, and others. Mitigation strategies Research consideration Research items Spacesuit design Hypercapnia prevention Support liquid membranes, swing bed scrubber, mask sensor system Thermal regulation and humidity control Spacesuit water membrane evaporator, full-body radiator, liquid cooling ventilation garment, variable geometry radiators Nutrition, hydration, and waste management Maximum absorbency garments, wastewater stabilization Health and fitness requirements High-intensity interval training, emergency procedures for incapacitated crew Decompression sickness Exercise pre-breathe protocol, hypobaric environment Radiation shielding Radiation Protection Garment (PERSEO Project), biological countermeasures, magnetic shields, hydrogenated boron nitride nanotubes, FLARE Suit Dust mitigation strategies Spacesuit integrated carbon nanotube dust ejection/removal, electrodynamic dust shield, photovoltaic dust removal technology, electron beam Health monitoring and injury prevention Biosensor, bioharness, astroskin, lifeguard, warfighter physiological status monitoring, glucowizzard, “Lab-on-Skin” Devices, BioSuit Concept of operations Astronaut fatigue Schedule logistics, task assignments, suit mass reduction Psychological well-being Assessment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness Operational challenges Heads-up display, augmented reality, holo-sextant, communication methods Spacesuit design Spacesuits are vital for EVA as they serve as the astronaut’s own personal spacecraft. Average calories burned were 944 kcal and all subjects felt additional food and drink would improve endurance and performance, indicating that fasting prior to EVA may not be a sufficient mitigation strategy. The environmental control and life support technology gaps are being addressed at the macro level for intravehicular activity (IVA) and include multi-filtration bed and urine processor assembly upgrades, brine dewatering development, biological water processing, and wastewater stabilization 25 . Researchers at the University of Southern California discovered that there is a serious risk at the lunar terminator (i.e., dividing line between day and night) from electrostatic discharge 64 . One lunar anti-dust technology is the Spacesuit Integrated Carbon Nanotube Dust Ejection/Removal (SPIcDER) system, which is designed to protect spacesuit outer surfaces 65 . The system uses an electrodynamic dust shield (EDS) and work Several health monitoring systems, most of which were originally created for military and aviation personnel, can monitor stress and vital signs within the spacesuit environment (BioHarness, Astroskin, LifeGuard, and Warfighter Physiological Status Monitoring) 78 – 81 . Vital sign measurements include: heart and respiration rate, body motion and position, fluid intake, skin temperature, and sleep estimates via actigraphy. An implantable biosensor such as the Glucowizzard, could be placed to monitor specific biomarkers like blood glucose levels, and provide constant data without the need to consider skin-to-skin contact of a biosensor 80 . Researchers at the Space Systems Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park investigated an innovative concept called BioBot 89 . In this spacesuit architecture, the life support equipment is primarily carried by the rover instead of the astronaut, therefore reducing PLSS mass 89 . Ten potential astronaut life support system configurations were considered, ranging from a minimal mass configuration of approximately 18 kg that could supply 20 min of life support operated in an open loop, to a maximum mass configuration of ~68 kg that could provide up to 480 min of life support operated in a closed loop 89 .