Moon dresses at Prada: Details of the suits the next NASA astronauts will wear

The eyes of the world won’t just be on you The next mark left by future NASA astronauts Which will set foot on the moon again in 2025 with the mission Artemis III.

They will also appear in their new space suits, following a recent announcement by the Italian luxury group Prada That, along with startup axiom space, He will seek to design clothes for the next moon astronauts.

“Prada engineers will work with the Axiom Space Systems team throughout the design process, developing material solutions and design features to protect astronauts from The challenge of space and the lunar environment“They said in a joint statement.

This is the first innovative partnership between an Italian luxury fashion house and a commercial space company. As the first manned landing on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, This Artemis III mission, scheduled for the end of 2025He would also be the first to put a woman on the moon.

“We are delighted to partner with Prada on Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit.. Prada’s technical expertise in raw materials, manufacturing techniques and innovative design concepts will provide advanced technologies that will be instrumental in ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, but also much-needed human factors considerations that are absent from suits. ,” He said Michael Suffredini CEO of Axiom Space.

“Prada’s ongoing progressive spirit for humanity has expanded to include its desire for adventure and to confront new frontiers: space,” he said. Lorenzo Bertelli, Marketing Director of Prada Group.

“We are honored to be a part of this Historical mission With Axiom Space. We have decades of experience, cutting-edge technology and design expertise, starting in the 1990s Luna Rossa Competition for america cup, It will now be applied to the spacesuit design for the Age of Artemis. “It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilization,” he added.

The AxEMU spacesuit will provide the astronauts Advanced space exploration capabilities, While providing NASA with the commercially developed human systems needed to reach, live and work on and around the Moon.

“Axiom Space’s spacesuits, which evolve the spacesuit design for NASA’s Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), are designed to provide… More flexibility, Greater protection To withstand the hostile environment and specialized tools for exploration and scientific opportunities. Using innovative technologies and designs, These spacesuits will allow greater exploration of the lunar surface than ever before“, confirmed from Axiom Space. They continued: “The development of these next-generation spacesuits is an important milestone for advancing space exploration and enabling a deeper understanding of the Moon, the Solar System and beyond.”

On November 16, 2022, NASA launched the Artemis 1 mission, opening a new era of space exploration. space deep.

It was a take off The most powerful rocket in history to reach space (SpaceX’s Starship failed in 2023)It was able to complete a 26-day unmanned mission during which it was able to perform an extended orbit of our natural satellite.

“Artemis 1 takes off! “We’re rising together, going back to the moon and beyond,” NASA commentator Derrol Neal said during that morning’s launch broadcast.

NASA’s lunar plan will continue next year, when a crewed Artemis 2 mission in November 2024 will take four astronauts to orbit the moon, without landing.

American astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reed Weissman And the Canadian Jeremy Hansen They were selected last April to board the powerful rocket Space Launch System (SLS) o NASA’s Space Launch System and a 10-day flight.

“Artemis is the first step in the next era of human exploration. The US Space Agency indicated that, “In cooperation with commercial and international partners, NASA will establish a sustainable presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars.”

We have already tested the rocket and spacecraft. That was a 26-day mission last November that passed all tests. It was so good that we added additional tests along the way. And now we’re going to put in a human crew. This will be the first time we return to the moon in half a century“, said L information nasa administrator, Bill NelsonDuring a press conference while in Buenos Aires.

It has been more than 50 years since the Apollo program put man on the moon. With the launch of Artemis 1 last year, NASA continues to gather knowledge to reposition humans on the selenite surface. Furthermore, the Artemis Program plans to send the first woman and first African American in history there.

“Artemis is also a step toward a slightly longer-term goal, which is getting to Mars.. In the future, when the crew goes to Mars, they will have to enter the Martian atmosphere using technologies that we will test in the Artemis program. Indeed, re-entry into the atmosphere on Mars represents a major problem at the technical level that still exists and which other groups are studying. On this Artemis I mission, for example, we’ll be testing the unique heat shield. He explained that the capsule, the Artemis command module, for the Orion ship, is designed to house 4 astronauts, which makes its dimensions larger. information The engineer Eduardo Garcia Lama, Senior Engineering Flight Operator for NASA’s Artemis Mission Guidance and Control At the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, USA.

The new generation of spacesuits will need The technologies and capabilities that NASA has incorporated into this spacesuit to be able to perform extravehicular (EVA) walking, (for short in English) in deep space, on the surface of the moon, and finally on the surface of Mars.

The new suits will be more compact and lighter, and according to NASA; It will accommodate “at least 90% of the male and female population.” They will also arrive with advances in life support systems, pressure systems, etc.