Features of the inner layer include thermoregulation, an in-suit nutrition system, biometric monitoring, a regenerable CO₂ scrubbing system and a variable suit pressure device. The boots, which Ralston says were the most challenging part of the suit to develop, are engineered to withstand both extremely high and extremely low temperatures.
As Nasa sets out to find water in the craters of the moon’s south pole, where the surface’s temperature can vary from freezing cold to several hundred degrees above zero Celsius, astronauts will be able to spacewalk for eight hours in the Axiom-Prada spacesuits.
Minor tweaks to the current design are to be expected before the mission launches — “It has already changed a lot since we unveiled the prototype two years ago,” says Ralston — but executives from both companies tout the “excellent” balance they have been able to strike between mobility, performance and endurance.
Prada’s long-term objective is to participate in the development of the space suits’ internal layer too, by leveraging its sailboat engineering expertise (competitive sailboats are specially built to be resistant but light, for example).
For now, Bertelli says he’s proud that the group “has pushed beyond its limits”. He continues: “I don’t know if this will end up being strategic for Prada. For now we sell bags which enable us to invest in projects like this, but one day when going to space will be [common], we will be able [to dress space tourists] thanks to the knowledge we are building.”
Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli © 2024 The Financial Times
This article originally appeared in The Financial Times