High Fashion Meets Outer Space

It’s fashion meets science when it comes to NASA’s newly commissioned spacesuits. In what sounds like science fiction, but is actually real, Italian fashion giant, Prada, is teaming up with aerospace company, Axiom Space to create chic and functional space wear. If all goes well, these spacesuits will make their “red carpet” debut in NASA’s Artemis III lunar mission, scheduled for 2026.

Robust and functional
The last time man went to the moon, CNN shares, was more than 50 years in 1972, and the spacesuits those astronauts wore would be obsolete by today’s standards. In a CBS interview with YouTube, Axiom Space’s executive vice president Russel Ralston tells reporter Mark Strassmann that the new spacesuits are “a huge leap forward in terms of mobility.” Ralston explains that old suits were bulky and difficult to maneuver in them. Astronauts frequently fell and had difficulty getting up. Spaceman Charlie Duke adds the gloves severely affected his dexterity. Even simple fine motor tasks like picking up a hammer became “demanding” and “exhausting.”

Everything about this new suit has been redesigned for maneuverability, comfort, and functionality, from head to toe. Starting with the head, the helmets will allow astronauts significantly more visibility than any past design. 

The boots, CNN explains, will allow astronauts to moonwalk for up to eight hours. The suits will be a metallic white color that reflects heat, protecting its wearers from both the dust on the moon’s surface, and high temperatures. 

Prada and Axiom Space’s versatile suit isn’t just for high heat though, NPR reports. According to NASA’s press release, this suit is also prepared to withstand the freezing cold temperatures at the lunar south pole.

“It will withstand extreme temperatures at the lunar south pole and endure the coldest temperatures in the permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours,” the press release reads. “Astronauts will be able to perform spacewalks for at least eight hours.”

The suit also includes lights, HD cameras, and is ready for action, with 4G-built-in communications and a nutritional system built into the suit as well.

Flying to space in style
CNN shares that fashion company, Prada, played an integral role in both designing and crafting the suit, which will be white with gray patches on the knees and elbows, and red on the forearms, and comes with “portable life-system backpacks.

In a press conference, Ralston remarked on Axiom Space’s partnership with the Italian high-fashion company, Prada that, “This is a groundbreaking partnership. We’re blending engineering, science and art.”

About 10 employees from Prada, commuted from Milan to work on the space suits, contributing Prada’s sewing techniques and textile knowhow. 

CBS adds that although much of the suit was 3D-printed or cut by lasers, parts of the suit, including the intricate stitches on the gloves, were actually crafted by hand or with sewing machines by Prada fashion designers. The space wear is also made from a strong and resilient blend of mylar and kevlar

“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,” Matt Ondler, president of Axiom Space told NPR. “We have broken the mold.”

AxEMU is the official name of the spacesuit. The acronym stands for “Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit.”

Artemis III
NASA plans to utilize the AxEMU suits in their Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2026, CNN shares. Artemis III is the “return to the moon” mission, where NASA hopes to land men and women on the moon, marking the first moonwalk in decades, as well as the first woman on the moon’s surface.

“Today, anyone with deep pockets can go to space,” Lorenzo Bertelli, the chief marketing officer of Prada, told a group of journalists, about the Artemis mission. “Soon it’ll become affordable and people will be able to go to the moon. So I think we’re just at the beginning of a new era.”