Prada to design spacesuit for Nasa's astronauts

Luxury fashion brand Prada is collaborating with NASA through private company Axiom Space to create cutting-edge space suits for astronauts. These next-generation space suits are slated for use in NASA's Artemis Mission III will follow Artemis 2, which will involve flying a capsule around the Moon late next year or early in 2025.

"Prada has considerable experience with various types of composite fabrics and may actually be able to make some real technical contributions to the outer layers of the new space suit," Professor Jeffrey Hoffman told BBC.

Hoffman is an experienced astronaut who has flown five Nasa missions and has carried out four spacewalks. According to him, these space suits won't prioritise any fancy features. In the harsh conditions of space, maintaining a stable thermal environment is of utmost importance for the designers.


"A spacesuit is really like a miniature spacecraft. It has to provide pressure, oxygen, keep you at a reasonable temperature," Hoffman added.

The collaboration between Prada and NASA is anticipated to result in space suits with advanced capabilities, offering astronauts an improved range of motion and flexibility during lunar exploration.


"The AxEMU spacesuit will provide astronauts with advanced capabilities for space exploration, while offering NASA commercially developed human systems needed to access, live and work on and around the Moon."

Michael Suffredini, Axiom's chief, highlighted Prada's technical expertise in raw materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovative design concepts, which will play a vital role in enhancing astronaut comfort and addressing human factors considerations that were previously lacking in legacy spacesuits.

Earlier this year, NASA unveiled a prototype design for the Artemis III space suits. The suit weighed 55kg and was said to be a better fit for female travelers.

Artemis 2 will have the first woman and the first black astronaut ever assigned to a lunar mission - Christina Kock and Victor Glover respectively.