By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-16 21:54:00 | Updated at 2024-10-17 01:42:08
4 hours ago
Astronauts walking on the moon as part of Nasa’s first human mission to the lunar South Pole will be wearing Prada, as part of a new venture unveiled on Wednesday.
Private space company Axiom Space teamed up with the Italian luxury brand to provide the surface suits and spacewalk systems for Nasa’s Artemis 3 mission, which is planned for September 2026.
The external layer of the spacesuit, designed to reflect heat, is largely white, as it was on the suits worn by the Apollo astronauts who last walked on the moon more than 50 years ago.
But the update will have a few touches of grey and some red stripes similar to those seen on Italy’s Luna Rossa America’s Cup boat, which was also sponsored by Prada.
Matt Ondler, president of Axiom Space, told a press launch in Milan that making the suit had required “extreme engineering” and “fantastic manufacturing capability”.
“They will go in places that are incredibly hazardous, extreme environments,” he said.
