Prada Designs Astronaut Clothes That Can Survive Extreme Conditions
JAKARTA - The breakthrough was initiated by the famous luxury fashion brand, Prada. The Italian brand was recently involved in the development of an astronaut shirt called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) with the space company Axiom Space.
"We contribute to our expertise in the use of high-performance materials, sewing techniques, and feature design. In addition, we also gained a lot of new knowledge from this project," said Lorenzo Bertelli, marketing leader of the Prada Group, as quoted by Antara.
The collaboration was announced at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, which took place last week. The AxEMU astronaut shirt will be part of NASA's Artemis III mission, which is planned for the moon.
Designed by white domination, AxEMU spacesuits are made to be able to survive in extreme conditions at the south pole of the moon, both high hot and extreme cold temperatures in certain areas. This shirt also supports spacewalk activity for up to eight hours, so astronauts can perform work outside the station comfortably.
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Axiom Space president Matt Ondler said this collaboration created a new foundation for cross-industrial cooperation and expanded the potential for commercial space exploration. "This partnership opens new opportunities in space," he said.
The Prada designer works with the Axiom Space engineering team to ensure that each aspect of the AxEMU shirt works optimally in the lunar environment, but is also comfortable and aesthetically interesting. Prada provides a touch of special design without compromising the necessary technological performance.
AxEMU is equipped with various important features, including emergency systems, compression suits to support astronaut bones, and other additional components. According to Axiom Space, this shirt is designed so that it can be used not only for exploration missions on the lunar surface, but also in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Currently, AxEMU's spacesuit is in the final phase of development. Several tests have been carried out, including underwater simulations to mimic lunar conditions, as well as trials at NASA's Johnson Space Center to test performance in low gravity environments.