Axiom Space and Prada have expanded their spacesuit work for NASA’s Artemis program, revealing the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment that will sit under the AxEMU suit for Artemis IV when humans return to the Moon in 2028.
When Artemis IV brings humans back to the Moon in 2028, NASA won’t just be counting on big, visible spacesuits. It will also be relying on what astronauts wear underneath—an engineered base layer built to keep bodies cool, comfortable, and alive during long stretches inside the suit.
Axiom Space and Prada have previously collaborated on the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit. Now the companies have revealed the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG). the all-important layer astronauts will wear underneath the AxEMU when Artemis IV returns humans to the Moon in 2028.
The LCVG is designed to manage heat at the most personal level: cold water circulates through tubes embedded in the suit to whisk heat away from astronauts’ bodies. The goal is straightforward—keep the crew cool while they move inside the suit and during spacewalks—but the engineering goes beyond simple cooling. If the primary cooling system fails, there is a backup system, unlike older cooling suits.
Cooling isn’t the only job. The LCVG also houses the ventilation system that supplies fresh oxygen to the AxEMU helmet and directs exhaled CO2 to a scrubber for recirculation. It’s the kind of support layer that doesn’t look dramatic on a launch webcast. but can decide whether the mission feels manageable or becomes a problem in real time.
The collaboration between Axiom Space and Prada isn’t the first time NASA has tied space exploration to a blend of advanced manufacturing and fashion-driven design. NASA also funded the BioSuit concept created by MIT professor Dava Newman, with help from renowned architect Guillermo Trotti.
NASA Artemis IV Moon Axiom Space Prada AxEMU Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment LCVG spacesuit astronaut cooling ventilation system MIT Dava Newman Guillermo Trotti BioSuit
Prada long johns on the moon… wild. NASA really said fashion > function lol.
Wait so is this actually clothing or like a scammy branding thing? I saw “Prada” and assumed they just paid for the logo. But the article says it has cooling tubes and backups so maybe it’s legit? Either way I feel like the suit is gonna overheat.
Backup cooling system is nice but couldn’t they just make it not fail in the first place? Also the CO2 scrubber part, like how does it recycle oxygen like that, is it magic water or something? They’re talking about Artemis IV like it’s soon, but we’ve been “going back to the moon” forever.
Honestly I don’t care if it’s Prada or whatever, the big issue is they keep pushing the same mission dates. If the cooling fails on the moon that’s basically game over, right? And why is NASA working with a fashion company, I thought it was all engineers and contractors. Sounds like a headline they coulda put on a merch site.