Moonwalking just got a whole lot chicer.
Axiom Space is teaming up with Prada to design spacesuits for the Artemis III mission, the two companies announced on Wednesday. Planned for 2025, the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 will also feature the first partnership between an Italian luxury house and a commercial space company.
“The constantly forward-thinking ethos of Prada for humanity has broadened to his desire of adventure and to brave new horizons: space,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group’s marketing director, said in a statement. “We are honored to be a part of this historic mission with Axiom Space.”
Throughout the design process, Prada’s engineers will work with the Axiom Space systems team to perfect materials and features suited for space exploration. The Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit will include advanced capabilities that will allow astronauts to live and work on and around the moon: That means increased flexibility, better protection against the environment, and specialized tools for carrying out research.
A prototype of the spacesuit
Axiom Space
For its part, Prada—which many may not associate with space—feels up to the challenge. And in fact, its dabbling in the world of technologically advanced clothing goes back several years.
“Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology and design know-how—which started back in the ‘90s with Luna Rossa challenging for the America’s Cup—will now be applied to the design of a spacesuit for the Artemis era,” Bertelli said. “It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilization.”
Axiom Space, meanwhile, has years of experience in the field. It carries out missions to the International Space Station and also runs the world’s first commercial space station in low-Earth orbit. Although the final design of the new spacesuits isn’t yet known, it’s possible that the company’s collab with Prada will catapult it into the world of fashion as well.
“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,” Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini said in a statement.
If one day we’re able to sustain life in the great beyond, maybe a Prada store in space isn’t too far behind.