Luxury designer Prada to design NASA space suits for lunar mission

When you think of the Italian luxury brand Prada, you may picture glitzy runway shows with celebrities lining the catwalk at fashion weeks around the world.

What you probably don’t think of are astronauts on the moon clad in designer gear, but that is about to change as Prada and the Texas-based startup Axiom Space are collaborating to design the lunar space suits for NASA’s 2025 mission.

While the space agency isn’t issuing reports on UFOs, it is planning missions to space that will help experts gather valuable information about the universe.

NASA’s Artemis III mission will be the first crewed moon landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972 and engineers at Prada and Axiom Space’s systems teams are joining forces to create the new suits.

In a joint statement, the companies explained that they will collaborate throughout the design process to develop solutions for materials and design features that will help protect astronauts against the lunar environment and its various challenges.

Early prototypes of the suit were completed in March and are being designed to perfectly fit both men and women – an important consideration for the Artemis III space mission, which marks the first time a woman, and a person of colour, will land on the moon.

The astronauts, announced earlier this year by the space agency, are Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, commander Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch.

Mike Suffredini, president and CEO of Axiom Space, said in a statement at the time: “We're carrying on NASA's legacy by designing an advanced spacesuit that will allow astronauts to operate safely and effectively on the moon.

“Axiom Space's Artemis III spacesuit will be ready to meet the complex challenges of the lunar south pole and help grow our understanding of the moon in order to enable a long-term presence there.”

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