Luxury group Prada and aerospace startup Axiom Space revealed their spacesuit design for NASA’s 2026 lunar mission yesterday.
The spacesuit, known as the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), was unveiled at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan.
AxEMU is intended to protect astronauts from lunar dust and extreme temperatures, with its material designed to reflect heat. It will include a carbon dioxide removal system and life support technology.
“Astronauts will be able to perform spacewalks [in the AxEMU] for at least eight hours,” according to Axiom Space.
Prada’s Chief Marketing Officer Lorenzo Bertelli said the AxEMU “is just the first step in a long-term collaboration with Axiom Space”.
Axiom Space was awarded its US$228 million task order to develop spacesuits for NASA’s lunar mission in 2022, but had been discussing a spacesuit collaboration with Prada since before 2020.
NASA’s mission, dubbed Artemis III, will bring four astronauts to the moon’s South Pole, with two astronauts spending one week on the moon’s surface.
It is currently scheduled for late 2026, and will be the first crewed moon landing since 1972.
Prada’s (PRDSY) share price closed at $13.63 today, up from yesterday’s $13.35. Its market cap is HK$133.19 billion. Axiom Space is privately held.