In one of the strangest partnerships we've come across, Axiom Space and Prada (yes, that Prada) have teamed up to produce the space suits NASA astronauts will wear when they return to the Moon as part of the space agency's Artemis program.
NASA has not had a new space suit since 1982 when the current EVA suits were made, and there have been no new Moon suits since the Apollo program that ended in 1972. To fill this gap, the agency awarded Axiom US$228 million in 2022 to come up with an improved modern version of the Apollo suit. In turn, Axiom partnered with fashion house Prada to work on the design of the outer shell of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) suit, as well as details like materials used, production methods, and even the stitching.
At first glance, there's something surreal about bringing in a fashion designer on what is essentially an engineering project. In engineering, the rule is that form follows function and many incredibly beautiful machines and infrastructure projects have been created where their beauty derived from how they were designed to do their job.
Concorde, for example, is one of the most gorgeous aircraft ever built, but no one considered the aesthetics when making it. The same is true of the bridges built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel during the Victorian Era that are spread across Britain. They wouldn't look out of place in an art gallery, except that they'd never fit, yet they were all designed for the mundane task of carrying trains over rivers and the like.
On the other hand, this isn't the first space suit that had aesthetics on its requirements list. The suits worn by its SpaceX Dragon astronauts were originally drawn up with the help of Jose Fernandezm, who is a Hollywood costume designer and thought the suits were meant for a film wardrobe.
If there was a third hand available, it should also be pointed out that the Apollo suits were made by International Latex Corporation, which brought the company's experience making brassieres and girdles to the problem of making space suits out of latex and specialized textiles. In that light, there is a method to the Prada madness.
The formal unveiling of the AxEMU suit last week at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan isn't the first glimpse of the design the public has been afforded. However, Axiom points out that on previous occasions the outer shell of the suit was rendered in a special dark cover layer to protect proprietary secrets from prying eyes.
Now, the suit is in the white livery with dark knee and elbow patches. The white is to reflect sunlight away to shield the astronaut against heat while the patches provide protection against abrasion – an important point because, unlike the Apollo suits, these are intended for indefinite reuse.
According to Axiom, the new suit is designed for both exploring the lunar south polar region and for EVAs in space. Unlike the Apollo suits, which were custom tailored, and the current one used on the International Space Station, which come in interchangeable modules in only a few sizes, the new suit will fit 99% of males and females. This suggests that the AxEMU suit is highly adjustable and likely comes in men's and women's models.
The suit has a carbon dioxide scrubbing and cooling technology that is probably a refinement on the sublimation system used for Apollo. The heating system can keep an astronaut comfortable in the freezing lunar shadows for up to two hours and life support can be used for Moonwalks and spacewalks for up to eight hours. There are advanced materials in the suit itself, redundant systems and self-diagnostic capabilities for safety, and camera-equipped helmets that provide a wide viewing angle.
Axiom claims that even the gloves have been improved – which will please many astronauts because the current ones are very cold to wear and tend to rip off fingernails.
The suit is currently undergoing testing without anyone inside as it approaches the final development stage and its critical design review next year.
"We are pioneering a new era in space exploration where partnerships are imperative to the commercialization of space," said Russell Ralston, Executive Vice President of Extravehicular Activity, Axiom Space. "Partnerships build a strong, cohesive team, enabling industry experts to provide cutting-edge technology, specialized products and services to drive innovation. For the first time, we are leveraging expertise in other industries to craft a better solution for space."
Source: Axiom Space