Having nailed terrestrial fashion, Prada is ready to conquer the final frontier with their first ever space suit.
The Italian fashion house and Axiom Space just unveiled the spacesuit that astronauts will be using for NASA’s Artemis III mission to the moon.
As well as being stylish (of course), the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit provides increased safety, flexibility and performance, and accommodates a wide range of crew members, including men and women.
It will also withstand extreme temperatures at the lunar south pole and the coldest temperatures in the permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours.
Astronauts will be able to perform spacewalks in the suit for at least eight hours. The suit also uses a regenerable carbon dioxide scrubbing system and a robust cooling technology to remove heat from the system. It includes advanced coatings on the helmet and visor to enhance the astronauts’ view of their surroundings, as well as custom gloves, made in-house.
Unveiled at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, the AxEMU is the fruit of a collaboration of two giants in their own space.
“We have broken the mould. The Axiom Space-Prada partnership has set a new foundational model for cross-industry collaboration, further expanding what’s possible in commercial space,” said Matt Ondler, Axiom Space President.
Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Corporate
Social Responsibility added, “We’ve shared our expertise on high-performance materials, features, and sewing techniques, and we learned a lot. I’m sure we’ll continue to explore new challenges, broaden our horizons, and build new scenarios together.”