Milan
CNN
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Luxury fashion house Prada and commercial space company Axiom Space have unveiled designs for a spacesuit to be worn on NASA’s Artemis III lunar mission.

The predominantly white suits were unveiled on Wednesday during the International Astronautical Congress in Milan and feature a cropped torso and stone gray patches on the elbows and knees. Although conspicuously free of branding or logos, the designs include red accent lines on the forearms, waist and “wearable life system backpacks” reminiscent of Prada’s sub-brand Linea Rossa.

“This is a groundbreaking partnership,” Russel Ralston, executive vice president of Axiom Space, said during the press conference. “We combine technology, science and art.”

The elegant looking suits come with a number of innovative features. Thanks to specially designed boots, astronauts can walk in space for at least eight hours a day. According to a joint press release, the suits will be made from a white material that reflects heat and provides protection from extremely high temperatures and lunar dust. Mobility has also been improved since the Apollo 17 designs. But it was Prada’s deep knowledge of textile production and sewing techniques that helped “bridge the gap” between functionality and style, the press release says.

The gender-neutral, one-size-fits-all suits were also several years in the making. According to Prada Group Chief Marketing Officer Lorenzo Bertelli, the fashion house was already discussing the collaboration before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. Around ten Prada employees worked on the spacesuit and commuted between Milan and the Axiom base in Houston.

NASA’s Artemis III mission, currently scheduled for the second half of 2026, is expected to be the first moon landing by an astronaut since Apollo 17 in 1972. If successful, it could also be the first time a woman has set foot on the moon.

“Today anyone with a lot of money can fly into space,” Bertelli told reporters in Milan. “Soon it will be affordable and people will be able to fly to the moon. I think we are just at the beginning of a new era.”