Prada to dress NASA astronauts for their return to the Moon

© Axiom Space

Going into space is very expensive, but in addition to the journey, the spacesuit has also become a luxury product. The company Axiom Space, which plans to develop space tourism in the more or less near future, has just presented its new spacesuit. It was made in collaboration with the Italian luxury brand Prada.

This “extravehicular mobility unit” (or AxEMU for its little name), was built with the aim of withstanding the extreme conditions of the vacuum in space. While Prada did not work on the technical part of the suit, such as the ventilation or dehumidification system, the luxury brand collaborated with Axiom Space on the exterior part.

It notably brought its “knowledge and skills in high-performance materials and sewing techniques” according to the press release. In addition to its work of protecting against the vacuum of space, the suit is intended to “represent future space exploration.”

First mission in 2026

While the suit is very pretty and seems to fit like a glove, we will have to be quite patient before seeing it on the shoulders of an astronaut. Indeed, Axiom Space built these suits on behalf of NASA. They will not be worn before the Artemis 3 mission, scheduled for 2026.

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This mission should mark the great return of Man to the Moon. It will be the opportunity for NASA to send, for the first time in history, a woman and a person of color to the ground of our satellite. Following this first mission to rediscover the Moon, the Artemis program should continue, with the construction in particular of Gateway, the equivalent of the ISS but around the Moon.

NASA plays the private card

To ensure this return to the Moon, NASA has decided to redistribute a large part of its missions to private companies. As we saw above, Axiom Space won the tender for the design of the space suits for Artemis 3, other companies hit the jackpot.

This is particularly the case for SpaceX. Its Starship rocket, the one that has been making headlines in recent weeks, was chosen by the American space agency under the name HLS (Human Landing System). In other words, it is the one that will take care of the last few meters of the descent to the Moon.

The Starship will also have to ensure the return of NASA astronauts to Earth. As such, the upcoming flights of the SpaceX rocket will be closely monitored by NASA, to see if the rocket is capable of crossing the atmosphere at high speed without suffering too much damage.

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