Luxury fashion house Prada and commercial space company Axiom Space have unveiled the spacesuit that will be worn for NASA’s upcoming Artemis III moon mission. The co-designed spacesuit will be worn by the first woman and the first person of colour ever to land on the moon as they take their first steps on the lunar surface. According to NASA, that historical moment might arrive as early as September 2026.
Unveiled during the International Astronautical Congress in Milan earlier this week, the mostly white suits features a cropped torso and stone-grey patches across the elbows and knees. Although conspicuously free of branding or logos, the spacesuits do include red accent lines across the forearms, waist and “portable life system backpacks,” which nod to the red lines on Prada’s sub-brand, Linea Rossa.
“Partnering with Axiom Space has been an unprecedented journey,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility. “I am particularly proud of our teams who have worked to provide tailor-made solutions to increase astronauts’s comfort and flexibility.”
The spacesuits — which are gender neutral and one size fits all — have been several years in the making. According to Bertelli the fashion house has been discussing the collaboration with Axiom since before the Covid-19 pandemic struck back in 2020. Around 10 different Prada employees worked on the spacesuit, commuting between Milan, Italy and Axiom’s base in Houston, Texas.
Of course the spacesuits include a range of innovative features: The suits are made in a white material able to protect from lunar dust, reflect heat, and able to “withstand extreme temperatures at the lunar south pole and endure the coldest temperatures in the permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours.” Astronauts will also be able to spacewalk for at least eight hours a day thanks to specially engineered boots, according to a joint press release.
Apparently it was Prada’s in-depth knowledge of textile production and sewing techniques that helped “bridge the gap” between functionality and style, reads the release.
“This is a groundbreaking partnership,” said Russel Ralston, executive vice president of Axiom Space, during the press conference. “We’re blending engineering, science and art.”
The astronauts selected to crew the upcoming mission have yet to be announced, however NASA has already stated that: “for the benefit of all humanity, NASA and its partners will land the first woman and first person of colour on the surface of the Moon with Artemis.” As and when that historical landing is achieved, they will become the first to walk on the moon’s surface since Gene Cernan in December, 1972. A total of 12 astronauts have landed on the moon, all of them in a slim window between the first 1969 landing by Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong and that final Apollo 17 mission three and a half years later.
