Axiom Space and Prada have unveiled a Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) intended to be worn by astronauts inside the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit. The companies said the LCVG is designed as the inner layer of the AxEMU, providing cooling, ventilation and comfort for lunar surface activity ahead of NASA’s Artemis IV mission.
“The future of space exploration will not be built by any one entity alone, and our partnership with Prada is proof of that,” said Dr. Jonathan Cirtain, Axiom Space CEO and President. “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.”
According to the companies, the LCVG work draws on Prada’s engineered knitting and design concepts, using 3D modelling to maintain cooling and ventilation while improving comfort during spacewalks of up to eight hours. They also said material selection and fibre sourcing were aimed at enabling repeated use across long-duration missions.
The announcement follows a 2024 unveiling of the AxEMU’s outer layer, where Prada contributed to design and product development for an exterior intended to handle lunar South Pole conditions, including thermal extremes and micrometeoroids. The companies described the move to the inner garment as a next step focused on thermal regulation, comfort and reliability.
“When we unveiled the AxEMU, we announced that the collaboration between Prada and Axiom Space would continue beyond that first milestone. 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, patternmaking, and advanced materials, ahead of humanity’s return to the lunar surface,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Sustainability. “We look forward to continuing this collaboration with Axiom Space, pushing boundaries and exploring new frontiers together.”
Axiom Space said the garment is designed to manage metabolic heat generated during spacewalks by circulating cold water through a network of tubes routed across major muscle groups, transferring heat to the suit’s portable life-support system for expulsion into space. The company said the LCVG includes a fully redundant cooling circuit to provide a backup if the primary loop fails.
The LCVG is also intended to support ventilation, with a separate loop delivering fresh oxygen across an astronaut’s face to reduce exhaled carbon dioxide, which is routed back through the life-support system’s CO2 scrubber before oxygen is recirculated.
“Every minute astronauts spend outside their vehicle, the LCVG is working to keep them safe,” said Russell Ralston, Axiom Space Senior Vice President of Spacecraft Development. “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.”
