The design of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit was first presented at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. For the first time in 50 years, people will land on the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis III mission, as stated on the Axiom Space website.
AxEMU has special tools for exploring the south pole of the Moon. It is designed for any crew member, both men and women. Engineers say that the suit can withstand extremely low temperatures at the South Pole and in permanently darkened areas of the Moon for at least two hours. In outer space, staying in it for more than eight hours will be possible.
The company created the new space suit with the Italian fashion house Prada. According to the developers, the fashion designers were responsible for ensuring that the suit was safe and functional and visually inspired future space explorers.
It is worth noting that the suit was dark in color at the demonstrations of the first stages of development — this was done to hide the patented technology. To land on the lunar surface, white material reflects heat and protects astronauts from extremely high temperatures and dust.
For the past two years, Axiom Space has been improving the AxEMU spacesuit and conducting tests. Now, the development is at the final stage. A critical design analysis is planned for 2025.