Prada To Design Spacesuits For NASA’s Artemis III Mission With Axiom Space

Embarking on a significant cosmic journey, NASA is preparing for its first crewed lunar mission in nearly five decades, following in the footsteps of the historic Apollo 17 mission in 1972. For the Artemis III mission in 2025, NASA has selected Axiom Space, a human spaceflight service provider, to create the attire for its astronauts. And to help Axiom Space bring a little style to space is Prada.

Prada’s involvement will extend beyond aesthetics, as the brand will leverage its technical expertise in raw materials and manufacturing techniques to ensure astronaut comfort and address human factors in spacesuit design.

The AxEMU suit represents an advancement in astronaut gear, designed to equip spacefarers with cutting-edge capabilities for lunar exploration. It encompasses a range of commercially developed human systems, facilitating access, habitation, and work on the lunar terrain. 

These spacesuits, evolving from NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) design, offer increased flexibility and enhanced protection to withstand challenging lunar conditions. Additionally, they come equipped with specialized tools tailored for exploration and scientific pursuits. 

Below are images of the prototype AxEMU suit and custom glove.

“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 legacy spacesuits,” Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini said in a statement.

The Artemis III mission holds historical significance as it is poised to send the first woman and person of color to the moon. Astronauts Christina Koch and Victor Glover will lead this pioneering mission, marking a milestone in space exploration.

[via Engadget and Reuters, images via Axiom Space]