In a groundbreaking collaboration that fuses the worlds of high fashion and space exploration, Axiom Space, a prominent Houston-based spaceflight services company, has embarked on a partnership with the iconic Italian luxury fashion house, Prada. Their mission: to craft the spacesuits that will envelop the next generation of astronauts as they stride across the lunar surface.

Michael Suffredini, the CEO of Axiom, conveyed his enthusiasm about this novel partnership, stating, “We are thrilled to partner with Prada on the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit. 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.”

This collaboration took root in 2022 when NASA selected Axiom Space to oversee the construction and operation of spacesuits for the Artemis 3 mission, which will see the first human footsteps on the moon since the Apollo missions over half a century ago. As directed by the White House, the Artemis 3 mission is set to include a woman among the lunar explorers, marking a historic milestone as they venture to the lunar south pole.

Prada’s engineering team will work closely with Axiom’s experts to identify suitable materials and develop cutting-edge features to shield astronauts from the unique challenges presented by the lunar environment. Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s marketing director, remarked on this venture, stating, “Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology, and design know-how… will now be applied to the design of a spacesuit for the Artemis era. It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilization. We are honored to be a part of this historic mission with Axiom Space.”

Axiom unveiled the initial prototype of the AxEMU spacesuit in March, shrouded in a custom outer layer crafted by costume designer Esther Marquis from the Apple TV+ series “For All Mankind.” This black, orange, and blue garment was later adapted to soar into space as the spacesuit for “GiGi,” a plush Build-A-Bear toy that served as the “zero-g indicator” on Axiom’s second commercial mission to the International Space Station in May. With the introduction of the Prada collaboration, Axiom has provided a glimpse of its current white cover layer, which will more closely resemble what astronauts will wear on the moon.

The AxEMU is poised to equip NASA astronauts and their international counterparts with advanced capabilities for space exploration while offering NASA commercially developed human systems crucial for moon missions. These spacesuits, which build upon NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) design, offer enhanced flexibility, robust protection against the lunar environment, and specialized tools for scientific research and exploration. With Prada’s creative touch, Axiom envisions that the AxEMU spacesuits will facilitate unprecedented lunar surface exploration.

Axiom Space is not the only company to enlist the expertise of fashion designers in spacesuit development. SpaceX collaborated with Jose Fernandez, a costume designer renowned for superhero outfits in Marvel and DC, to craft their Dragon pressure garments. Virgin Galactic partnered with Under Armour to design clothing for SpaceShipTwo passengers, while Boeing collaborated with Reebok to create specialized boots for astronauts on the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.

Additionally, NASA has also chosen Collins Aerospace to design and construct lunar spacesuits for future Artemis missions, further emphasizing the importance of spacesuit innovation in the exciting era of space exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.