NASA Will Wear High-Tech Prada Long Johns to the Moon

NASA Is Heading Back to the Moon — and It's Wearing Prada Underneath

When most people think of Prada, they picture luxury runways in Milan, not the dusty craters of the lunar surface. But that association is rapidly changing. In a remarkable fusion of high fashion and aerospace engineering, Axiom Space and Prada have been quietly collaborating on some of the most technically advanced garments ever created for human spaceflight. While the world already got a glimpse of the headline-grabbing Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit — the sleek white AxEMU spacesuit — the partnership has now revealed what astronauts will wear underneath it: the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment, or LCVG. Think of it as the most expensive, most consequential pair of long johns ever designed.

What Is the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment?

The Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment is the critical base layer worn directly against an astronaut's skin inside the spacesuit. Its job is deceptively simple in concept but extraordinarily complex in execution: it keeps the astronaut cool, dry, and comfortable during the intense physical demands of a spacewalk on the Moon's surface.

Inside the AxEMU spacesuit, temperatures can climb rapidly. Astronauts performing extravehicular activities — moonwalks, equipment handling, geological surveys — exert enormous physical effort. Without an efficient thermal management system, body heat would quickly build to dangerous levels. The LCVG solves this by circulating cold water through a network of fine tubes woven directly into the fabric of the garment. As the water moves through these tubes in close contact with the astronaut's body, it absorbs excess heat and carries it away to be processed and cooled by the suit's broader life support system. It is, in essence, a wearable radiator.

But the LCVG doesn't stop at thermal regulation. It also houses the suit's ventilation system, which manages airflow and helps wick away moisture and carbon dioxide from around the astronaut's body. Together, these two systems — cooling and ventilation — work in concert to maintain a stable, safe microenvironment inside the suit regardless of what is happening on the lunar surface outside.

A Critical Safety Upgrade: The Backup Cooling System

One of the most significant advancements in the new LCVG is a feature that might seem understated but represents a major leap in crew safety: a backup cooling system. Older liquid cooling garments, including those used during the Space Shuttle era and even on the International Space Station, relied on a single primary cooling loop. If that system failed during a spacewalk, the consequences could be severe and the situation could deteriorate quickly.

The Axiom-Prada LCVG changes that equation. Should the primary water circulation system experience a failure, a secondary backup system can take over, buying the crew critical time to return to safety. This redundancy is not just a nice engineering touch — in the unforgiving environment of the Moon, where immediate rescue or emergency intervention from Earth is impossible, it could be the difference between life and death.

This design philosophy of built-in redundancy reflects the broader lessons NASA and its commercial partners have learned from decades of human spaceflight. The Moon is not a place where you get a second chance if your equipment fails.

Prada's Role: Where Luxury Craftsmanship Meets Space Engineering

It is natural to ask what a fashion house brings to a project like this. The answer lies in Prada's deep expertise in advanced materials and precision manufacturing. The Italian luxury brand has long worked with high-performance technical fabrics, and that knowledge translates surprisingly well to the demands of spacesuit design.

Prada's involvement is not simply cosmetic. The brand's engineers and designers have contributed to the material selection, construction techniques, and ergonomic design of both the outer AxEMU suit and now the LCVG. Creating a garment that must withstand the mechanical stress of spacewalks, maintain fluid integrity across hundreds of cooling tubes, fit the body closely enough to allow freedom of movement, and endure the radiation and vacuum of space requires exactly the kind of precision craftsmanship that Prada has built its reputation on — just applied in a very different context.

Artemis IV and the Return to the Moon in 2028

The LCVG is being developed specifically for the Artemis IV mission, which is currently targeted for 2028. Artemis IV will mark a significant milestone: it is planned to include the first crewed landing on the lunar surface under the Artemis program, building on the earlier Artemis missions that have re-established NASA's deep space capabilities.

Artemis IV will also connect with the Gateway lunar space station, a planned outpost in lunar orbit that will serve as a hub for future surface missions. Astronauts will travel from Gateway to the Moon's surface in the SpaceX Human Landing System, wearing the AxEMU and its LCVG base layer for their historic moonwalks.

The stakes for every piece of equipment on that mission are enormous. Every garment, every seal, every valve must perform flawlessly in one of the most hostile environments in the solar system.

Why the LCVG Matters Beyond the Mission

The development of the LCVG is also a signal of how NASA's approach to human spaceflight is evolving. By partnering with commercial companies like Axiom Space and bringing in unexpected collaborators like Prada, NASA is tapping into a wider pool of engineering talent and innovative thinking than the traditional aerospace industry alone can offer.

This model of commercial partnership is central to NASA's Artemis strategy. Rather than developing every piece of hardware in-house, the agency is fostering a competitive ecosystem of private companies that can bring new ideas, new materials, and new manufacturing approaches to old problems.

The Future Is Fashionably Functional

The Axiom Space and Prada Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment is a reminder that the most important technology is often invisible. While cameras will capture the gleaming white AxEMU spacesuit as astronauts step onto the lunar surface in 2028, the unsung hero keeping them alive and functional will be the high-tech long johns underneath. In space, comfort and survival are the same thing — and for Artemis IV, Prada will be helping deliver both.