Luxury fashion brand Prada is partnering with Axiom Space to design NASA’s lunar spacesuits for the highly anticipated Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2025, which will mark the first lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Collaborating with Axiom Space, the mastermind behind the world’s pioneering commercial space station, Prada will contribute its technical prowess in material development, manufacturing techniques and innovative design concepts.
“Prada’s technical expertise with raw materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovative design concepts will bring advanced technologies instrumental in ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface but also the much-needed human factors considerations absent from spacesuits”, said Michael Suffredini, CEO of Axiom Space.
With a commitment to pioneering innovative technologies and designs, the collaboration between Prada and Axiom Space promises to open new frontiers for lunar exploration, facilitating a more comprehensive and efficient exploration of the lunar surface.
“Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology and design know-how – which started back in the ‘90s with Luna Rossa challenging for the America’s Cup [sailing competition] – will now be applied to the design of a spacesuit for the Artemis era. It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilization”, said Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Marketing Director.
The new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuits, a progression from NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) spacesuit design, aims to equip astronauts with enhanced capabilities for lunar exploration. These suits will offer increased flexibility, reinforced protection against the hostile lunar environment and specialized tools tailored for scientific investigation and exploration purposes.
“Prada has considerable experience with various types of composite fabrics and may actually be able to make some real technical contributions to the outer layers of the new space suit”, Professor Jeffrey Hoffman, a seasoned NASA astronaut who participated in five space missions and conducted four spacewalks, expressed. According to the professor, “a spacesuit is really like a miniature spacecraft. It has to provide pressure, oxygen, keep you at a reasonable temperature”.
Earlier this year, Axiom Space revealed a 55kg spacesuit intended for use during the forthcoming Artemis III mission. Notably, the suit was designed to provide a better tailored fit for female astronauts.
Artemis III will succeed Artemis II, a mission involving the circumnavigation of the Moon slated for late next year or early 2025. Notably, Artemis II will mark a significant milestone as it will include the first woman and the first black astronaut ever assigned to a lunar mission, with Christina Kock and Victor Glover respectively taking on this groundbreaking endeavor.
