This story originally appeared on WIRED Italia and was translated from Italian.
“Just like the Internet in the 1980s, we are witnessing the beginning of a new era. Today, access to space still belongs to a few, but just like computing, in a few years The price will also come down. Everyone should enjoy this world’s beauty of adventure. ” Prada Chief Marketing Officer Lorenzo Bertelli said today at the 2024 International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy. Yes, that’s right, Prada at the International Astronautical Congress.
Mr. Bertelli excitedly mentioned the unveiling of the Axiom External Mobility Unit (AxEMU). It’s a joint spacesuit design between the fashion house and Houston-based startup Axiom Space, and will be used on NASA’s Artemis 3 moon exploration mission, scheduled for 2026.
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“[This is]not a commercial or marketing issue,” Bertelli continued. “We will ultimately think about them later, but overcoming limitations is one of the values that best reflects the Prada ethos. This is the first step in our collaboration with Axiom Space. is.”
Speaking of overcoming limitations, while Bertelli contemplates Prada’s future marketing opportunities, AxEMU is actually a spacesuit used for operations outside the International Space Station. It is an evolved version of external mobility unit (xEMU).
Designed to increase flexibility, efficiency, and safety, AxEMU includes tools specifically designed for exploration of the lunar south pole. There, temperature ranges are so extreme that regolith, as thin as talcum powder, clings to every surface and gets into every crevice.
The suit can withstand the extreme temperatures and harsh climate of the lunar south pole in the permanently shaded region for at least two hours, and can withstand spacewalks for at least eight hours.
(Tag translation) NASA (T) Space (T) Moon (T) Apparel (T) Spaceship
