Gaby
Can you guess the fashion house? It’s Prada. The company has designed both men’s and women’s spacesuits for NASA astronauts who are set to travel to the Moon in 2026 as part of the Artemis III program.
For a company known for high fashion, this is a surprising new venture. The Prada brand, famous for its bags, accessories, clothing, and footwear, has taken on the challenge of developing suits for a lunar mission.
Founded in 1913 in Milan, the fashion house teamed up with American company Axiom Space, which provides services and infrastructure for space travel. Prada designers consulted with Axiom Space experts on the specifics of space gear, and the Prada team recommended materials and sewing techniques intended to improve the suits’ performance.
What Did They Create?
The collaboration produced the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) — a spacesuit made from white, heat-reflective material. NASA described the suit as “evolved, scalable, and adapted” for missions on the Moon’s surface and in low Earth orbit.
The creators of the AxEMU equipped it with a control panel, a carbon dioxide removal device, a portable backpack — essentially a life support system — lighting, a camera, 4G/LTE communication, and other crucial components.
The suit can withstand extreme temperatures at the Moon’s south pole and the frigid conditions in shadowed regions. It features enhanced flexibility and mobility, allowing astronauts to perform extravehicular activity for at least eight hours. The suit also includes a modern thermal regulation system.
The design adds an extra layer to the helmet and visor to improve astronauts’ views of extraterrestrial terrain. The kit also includes upgraded gloves and boots with blue soles, a nod to the footwear worn by astronauts who first set foot on the Moon more than 50 years ago.
The suit has already gone through a series of tests, including underwater trials, according to the Daily Mail.
NASA says that in 2026, as part of the Artemis III mission, a team of three men and one woman will travel to the Moon wearing these suits and land at the lunar south pole.
This will be the first human return to the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. During the expedition, the crew will explore the lunar surface and conduct scientific research.
