Space travel Nasa astronauts wear space suits by Prada

The astronauts on the first manned Nasa mission to the south pole of the moon are wearing space suits by Prada. The Italian fashion house designed the suits for the participants of the Artemis 3 mission planned for September 2026 and presented them in Milan on Wednesday.

The outermost layer of the suit is white - just like the suits worn by the astronauts on the first manned moon landing, Apollo 11, around 50 years ago. The sleeves and other parts of the suit feature Prada's typical red stripes.

The development of the suits required "extreme engineering" and "fantastic manufacturing skills", said Matt Ondler, head of the US space company Axiom Space, which designed the space suits together with the luxury fashion house.

One of the missions of the US space agency NASA is to search for water craters at the lunar pole. The region is one of the coldest places in the universe. According to Nasa, temperatures at the south pole of the moon are as low as minus 203 degrees Celsius.

The suit for the moon walk must not only insulate against extreme temperatures, but also protect the astronauts from radiation and external pressure, as well as being comfortable. It must also provide sufficient oxygen for moonwalks lasting up to eight hours.

As part of the planned mission, a woman will also be traveling to the moon for the first time - which means that the suits must be unisex and adapt to different sizes. With its Artemis 3 mission, NASA wants to take US astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than half a century. The mission was initially planned for the end of 2025, but was postponed by a year for safety reasons.

SDA