NEW YORK - Axiom Space and Prada have teamed up to show off the latest must-have accessory for moonwalkers: a high-tech undergarment that keeps astronauts cool, ventilated, and presumably ready for their close-up. At a June 7 event at a Prada store, the companies revealed the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG), part of the AxEMU spacesuit that astronauts will wear on the lunar surface starting with the Artemis 4 mission in 2028.

The LCVG is the inner layer of the suit, connecting to life support systems and providing cooling and ventilation. Prada’s expertise in garment materials and production was leveraged to make it happen. “This garment is the piece that is closest to the astronaut,” said Russell Ralston, senior vice president of spacecraft development at Axiom. “You need this garment to be comfortable, functional and enhance the safety of the overall suit.”

Compared to NASA’s current ISS spacesuit inner layer, the LCVG features a more integrated design of water cooling tubes, with a redundant line for extra safety. The material is more comfortable and avoids electrical charging issues from the lunar surface’s plasma environment. Ralston added the suit is designed for easier production, which he noted is “nice to have” for initial missions but a “really big deal” if we ever want thousands or millions of people in space.

As with the suit’s outer layer unveiled in Milan in October 2024, Axiom developed the LCVG in partnership with Prada. Lorenzo Bertelli, chief marketing officer of Prada Group, touted the company’s vertical integration and scalability, saying, “There is no sector in the world where there is such vertical integration like in luxury.” Jonathan Cirtain, CEO of Axiom, explained why they didn’t go it alone: “Prada leads the world in the development of soft goods for luxury items… Why would you choose to go do that on your own when you can go work with the best?”

One benefit: the companies can produce custom-fitted garments for each astronaut rather than a set of standard sizes. “They’ve figured out how they can make these suits to the person and do it in a way that doesn’t impact performance or safety or cost,” Cirtain said. Bertelli added, “If it is tailor-made, it is going to be immediately the biggest step in terms of comfort, mobility and so on.”

Despite a NASA Office of Inspector General report in April warning the suit might not be ready until after the decade’s end, Cirtain insists the AxEMU is on schedule. A qualification suit is due to NASA by the end of the year, and a prototype suit next year for in-space testing. “If you ask NASA today, are we on track to deliver a qualification suit by the end of the year, they’d tell you yes,” he said. The ultimate test, however, will be in orbit. “The first time you put all of those elements together is the first time the suit goes out the door on orbit,” Ralston noted.

Cirtain said NASA hasn’t decided whether that in-space test will be on Artemis 3 or the ISS, but the latter is preferable for practicality. He believes the AxEMU will be ready for the Artemis 4 lunar landing in 2028, adding, “We are not the long pole in the tent.”