The first NASA astronaut to walk on the moon will wear a Prada suit
In 2022, NASA abandoned the development of its own spacesuit to return to the Moon and entrusted this task to a private company: Axiom of Space. Axiom has just unveiled a design that will be worn by astronauts. This is a collaboration with Prada.
When NASA selected Axiom, the American company was already developing its own suits for its future commercial space station. However, designing a lunar suit to NASA’s specifications is more difficult than designing a suit for low Earth orbit, as evidenced by the project’s delays and recent design changes.
A suit for the moon is needed increased mobility of legs and torsoplus protection from abrasive lunar dust. It needs to be adapted for both men and women as NASA hopes to send the first woman to the Moon with the Artemis III mission planned for September 2026. The life support backpack must be integrated into the upper torso, which also serves as access for astronauts to don the spacesuit.
All this determined the final design of the Axiom spacesuit, presented this week during the International Astronautics Congress in Milan. The AxEMU (Axiom Extra-vehicle Mobility Unit) suit includes all safety, mobility, comfort and performance features, plus a new look.
The most amazing thing: the outer layer and materials of the suit were developed jointly by Axiom and Italian fashion brand Prada. Prada’s contribution, according to the press release, was its “expertise in high-quality materials, features and sewing techniques,” particularly in improving the comfort and material performance of suits.
It is expected to be white to reflect heat and protect astronauts from extreme temperatures, as well as help detect fine lunar dust, the particles of which act like blades for the lungs. The helmet and visor have coatings to improve visibility, and the backpack contains avionics and redundant cooling, carbon dioxide removal and diagnostic systems.
Axiom says the suit will allow astronauts to perform extravehicular activity lasting eight hours, as well as entering for at least two hours into the icy shadow region of the Moon’s south pole, where deposits of frozen water are believed to exist.
The AxEMU suit has entered the final stages of development. It will undergo extensive testing at facilities owned by Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX, which will supply the lander for the Artemis III and IV missions.
These tests include underwater testing with astronauts at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and integration testing with prototypes of the new lunar rover.
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