A year after announcing their partnership, the iconic Italian fashion house Prada and Texas-based Axiom Space unveiled their new line of designer spacesuits for NASA at the annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Milan, Italy.
The newly unveiled Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit based on NASA’s iconic designs will be used for the American space agency’s upcoming Artemis III mission, which will see the first moon landing by a human since Apollo 17 in 1972.
“Our elite teams have redefined spacesuit development, establishing new pathways to innovative solutions and applying a state-of-the-art design approach for the AxEMU,” Axiom Space President Matt Ondler said in a statement. “The Axiom Space-Prada partnership has set a new foundational model for cross-industry collaboration, further expanding what’s possible in commercial space.”
According to Axiom Space, the new spacesuits include soft and hard joints for an increased range of motion, which they said will enable astronauts to walk on the Moon more effortlessly, perform more precise geological and scientific tasks, and improve movement in space stations. The spacesuit’s boots are tailor-made to withstand lunar temperatures and terrain, and the suit includes biometric monitoring and control interfaces.
The release of the spacesuit by Prada and Axiom comes two months after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the firm’s own new spacesuits in August as a part of its Polaris Dawn mission and spacewalk. In September, the SpaceX Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suits were used by astronauts during a spacewalk that took place 435 miles above the Earth.
Prada Group Chief Marketing Officer Lorenzo Bertelli said in a statement that Prada shared its expertise on high-performance materials, features, and sewing techniques with Axiom Space—and learned a lot in return, too.
“I’m sure we’ll continue to explore new challenges, broaden our horizons, and build new scenarios together,” he added.
Founded in 2016, Houston, Texas-based Axiom Space is just one of a growing list of private companies—including Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX—designing spacecraft and equipment for deep space exploration and colonization.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
