Luxury fashion and space exploration are meeting in an unexpected way. NASA astronauts preparing for future lunar missions will wear a Prada-designed component inside their next-generation spacesuits, developed in collaboration with Axiom Space for the Artemis program. The latest reveal is the outer shell and a highly technical inner layer known as the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG), a critical system that helps astronauts operate safely on the Moon.
The suit was unveiled by Axiom Space and Prada in New York this month, marking another milestone in the ongoing partnership between the aerospace company and the Italian luxury brand. The collaboration extends beyond aesthetics, drawing on Prada’s expertise in advanced materials, manufacturing, ergonomics, and garment construction.
What Exactly Did Prada Design?
Prada worked on one of the most important wearable systems astronauts will use during lunar exploration: the garment worn beneath the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit.
The LCVG resembles a fitted performance suit and is embedded with a network of tubes that circulate cooling fluid around the astronaut’s body. This system helps regulate body temperature during lunar surface activities, where astronauts face extreme environmental conditions. Additional ventilation channels support oxygen circulation and assist with carbon dioxide removal inside the suit.
Design Meets Performance Engineering
The design team focused on comfort, mobility, and adaptability. The new LCVG features a more ergonomic fit, including thumbhole sleeves, stirrup-style lower sections, and a modular construction that can be adjusted for different astronauts. These design decisions improve movement while simplifying maintenance and repairs.
Prada’s contribution centered on textile development, garment engineering, and user comfort. The company applied expertise gained through decades of research into technical fabrics and performance wear, helping create a garment that balances functionality with wearability during long-duration missions.
Built for the Harsh Conditions of the Lunar South Pole
The garment has been designed for future Artemis missions targeting the Moon’s south polar region, an environment characterized by dramatic temperature fluctuations and challenging terrain. Maintaining a stable body temperature is essential for astronaut performance and safety during extended lunar excursions.
The cooling system continuously removes excess heat generated by both the astronaut and the suit’s electronics. A backup cooling capability has also been integrated, offering additional reliability compared to earlier generations of lunar suits.
Part of NASA’s Next-Generation Lunar Spacesuit
The LCVG is one element of Axiom Space’s AxEMU spacesuit system, developed for NASA’s Artemis program. The complete suit is intended to provide improved mobility, flexibility, durability, and life-support performance compared to the Apollo-era suits used during the last human Moon landings.
NASA selected Axiom Space to develop its next-generation lunar spacesuits, with Prada joining the project to contribute expertise in materials, manufacturing processes, and garment design. The partnership reflects a growing trend of cross-industry collaboration, where aerospace engineering increasingly draws from innovations in fashion, sportswear, and advanced textiles.
A New Direction for Design Beyond Earth
For Prada, the project represents an expansion of design into one of the most demanding environments imaginable. The collaboration demonstrates how fashion design principles—fit, comfort, material performance, and human-centered engineering—can play a role in space exploration.
As NASA moves closer to returning astronauts to the Moon, the Prada-Axiom partnership shows that future spacewear will be shaped as much by industrial design and material innovation as by aerospace engineering.
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