NEW YORK — Axiom Space unveiled the design of another element of the lunar spacesuit it is developing for NASA in partnership with luxury designer Prada.
During a June 7 event at a Prada store, the companies showed off the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) that is part of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or AxEMU, that Axiom is developing. The AxEMU is the spacesuit astronauts will wear on the lunar surface starting with the Artemis 4 mission in 2028.
The LCVG serves as an undergarment that astronauts will wear as an inner layer of the AxEMU, providing cooling and ventilation. The suit takes advantage of Prada’s expertise in garment materials and production.
“This garment is the piece that is closest to the astronaut,” said Russell Ralston, senior vice president of spacecraft development at Axiom, noting that it connects to life support systems in the suit. “You need this garment to be comfortable, functional and enhance the safety of the overall suit.”
Compared to a similar inner layer in NASA’s current spacesuits used on the International Space Station, the LCVG features a more integrated design of tubes used for water cooling. The design of the tubes is intended to improve the efficiency of that cooling and also includes a redundant cooling line.
