Axiom Space and Prada continue to strengthen their collaboration in developing next-gen suits to be worn for new space explorations.

They have just have unveiled a special high-tech space uniform to be worn by astronauts inside the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit.

In 2024, Axiom Space and Prada had unveiled the AxEMU’s outer layer, where Prada’s design and product development helped deliver a suit exterior built to withstand the thermal extremes and micrometeoroid environment of the lunar South Pole.

Deepening the partnership to take on the LCVG was a logical progression: moving from the suit’s outermost protective shell to the layer worn closest to the astronauts body, where thermal regulation, comfort and reliability are critical.

The Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) was engineered as a high-performance inner layer built to protect astronauts from the elements when they explore the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.

“The future of space exploration will not be built by any one entity alone, and our partnership with Prada is proof of that,” said Jonathan Cirtain, CEO and president, Axiom Space.

“By bringing together the best in both aerospace engineering as well as luxury craftsmanship and advanced product development, we have developed a garment that neither company could have created independently, and that is exactly the kind of cross-industry thinking that will define the next era of human spaceflight,” he added.

The LCVG collaboration draws on Prada’s expertise in engineered knitting and innovative design concepts, resulting in a next-generation garment developed through advanced 3D modeling techniques that maintain cooling and ventilation while enhancing comfort during up to eight-hour spacewalks.

Prada knowledge of high-performance materials has also supported the identification and sourcing of specialized fibers that allow the garment to be worn repeatedly across long-duration missions.

“When we unveiled the AxEMU, we announced that the collaboration between Prada and Axiom Space would continue beyond that first milestone,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, chief marketing officer and head of sustainability, Prada Group.

“Today, we are proud to present a new achievement born from the unique combination of Axiom Space’s pioneering expertise and Prada’s know-how in design, pattern-making, and advanced materials, ahead of humanity’s return to the lunar surface. We look forward to continuing this collaboration with Axiom Space, pushing boundaries and exploring new frontiers together,” Bertelli added.

The special lining will help crew members’s bodies generate significant metabolic heat as they walk. The LCVG circulates cold water through a network of tubes routed across the body’s major muscle groups, absorbing and carrying the heat away to the suit’s portable life-support system, where it will then be expelled into space.

Unlike legacy cooling garments, the Axiom Space LCVG features a fully redundant cooling circuit, ensuring a backup system is available if the primary loop fails.

When astronauts return to the Moon during NASA’s Artemis IV mission, the LCVG will be one of the few layers standing between them and the unforgiving environment of space.

The garment also serves a ventilation function, with a separate loop of tubes delivering fresh oxygen across an astronaut’s face to continuously wash away exhaled carbon dioxide. The gas then routes back through the life-support system’s CO2 scrubber before recirculating oxygen.

“Every minute astronauts spend outside their vehicle, the LCVG is working to keep them safe,” said Russell Ralston, space senior vice president of Spacecraft Development, Axiom.

“It manages their thermal environment, supports their breathing, and does it all while they’re pushing their bodies to the limit. The work we have done with Prada has taken that capability to a level we could not have achieved alone,” added Ralston underscoring how such discoveries can bring further developments, beyond fashion and space trips, but also eventually in the medical and wellness fields.