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Prada to design spacesuits for future moon missions · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hi everybody, welcome back to the show.
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  This is where we talk about everything that merges
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  technology, entrepreneurship, space and the final frontier.
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  And in today's episode, we're going to explore a fascinating
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  collaboration between fashion and space exploration.
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  Prada, the Italian luxury fashion house, has teamed up
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  with Axiom Space to design lunar space suits for NASA's upcoming
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  Artemis 3 mission. This mission aims to send humans
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  to the moon in 2025 aboard a SpaceX Starship rocket, and this
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  will include the first woman to walk on the lunar surface.
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  Now it seems fashion and space exploration have found common
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  ground. Prada recently announced their
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  partnership with Axiom Space to design spacesuits for NASA's
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  Artemis missions. Now this is going to happen in
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  2025 and the mission is historic in many ways.
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  Not only does it mark humanity's return to the moon after more
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  than 50 years, but it also includes plans for new people to
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  step on the moon, including the first woman.
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  Now, Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada's group Marketing director, spoke
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  enthusiastically about the collaboration and according to
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  Bertelli, the ethos of Prada aligned seamlessly with the
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  adventurous spirit required to venture into new realms like
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  space exploration. Now the company intends to
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  leverage its decades long experience and experimentation,
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  cutting edge technology, fabrics and design expertise for this
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  project. Axiom Space, for their part, has
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  been vested with the responsibility of developing
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  space infrastructure from NASA's Artemis 3 mission, and in a
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  statement, Axiom CEO Michael sufred, me plotted Pradas
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  prowess with raw materials and manufacturing techniques as key
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  to creating a comfortable yet functional spacesuit.
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  Now As for the spacesuits themselves, specifics are still
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  under wraps, but indications are there that Prada will build upon
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  a prototype previously released by Axiom.
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  Last year, Axiom secured a $228 million contract to design these
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  suits as part of a larger $1.3 billion package focused on the
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  2025 mission. Now these aren't just any
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  spacesuits, they come equipped with joints designed to offer
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  more flexibility than those worn during the Apollo missions.
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  The suits are also expected to feature built in HD cameras,
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  allowing a real time connection back to Earth.
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  The overall aim is to offer astronauts an enhanced ability
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  to explore the lunar surface and conduct scientific
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  experimentation. Now, this isn't the first time a
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  company traditionally focused on fashion has ventured into
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  spacesuit design, though. If you look back to the Apollo
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  11 mission, you'll find that International Latex Corporation,
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  more famous for designing Playtex bras and girdles, was
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  tasked with creating the suits for Neil Armstrong and Buzz
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  Aldrin. Now these suits were complex and
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  very expensive, comprising 21 layers of various materials like
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  synthetics, neoprene rubber, and metalized polyester films, and
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  they cost a staggering $100,000 each.
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  At that time, Neil Armstrong himself no to the effectiveness
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  and reliability of the suit he wore.
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  In a letter to NASA, Armstrong highlighted not just the suits
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  photogenic qualities, but its ability to function flawlessly
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  in the harsh conditions of space.
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  Prada's history with design and technology is more nuanced than
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  one might initially consider. The company's involvement in
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  sailing through the Luna Rasa Challenge for the America's Cup
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  has given them unique insights into material science and high
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  stress engineering. As Lorenzo Botelli, Prada's
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  group's marketing director, highlighted, they're going to
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  transfer that wealth of knowledge to the development of
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  these lunar suits. It's an incredible leap from sea
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  to space, but one that Prada is uniquely positioned to make.
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  And on the flip side, NASA has been pushing the envelope and
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  human space exploration since its inception, and though it's
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  Artemis 3 mission is monumental planning to send the first woman
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  in person of color to the moon, the agency recognizes that suits
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  are critical technology. They've got a history, too, of
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  legacy, of working with unexpected partners.
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  So NASA teaming up with a high fashion brand like Prada isn't
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  as farfeshed as it seems. Axiom Space is the glue that
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  binds these two Titans together. Founded in 2016, the company is
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  in the business of making space accessible not just for
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  astronauts but also to private citizens.
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  And Axiom has its own plans beyond NASA's missions to build
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  a commercial space station. And the suits develop in
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  collaboration with Prada, will find their use not only on the
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  moon but also in future space walks from Axiom's own orbiting
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  platform. It's a multifaceted partnership
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  1 where each player brings something irreplaceable to the
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  table. So what's next in this high
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  stakes, high fashion space venture?
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  Axiom Space is not just stopping at designing suits in the US for
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  NASA. The company is also planning to
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  launch the first segment of its commercial space station in
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  2026. Now, this move could eventually
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  see the Prada design suits adapted to this new commercial
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  space station for commercial space walks for regular people,
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  pedestrians like you and me. It's clear that the partnership
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  between these two is more than just the static, it's also
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  pushing the boundaries of what's possible between fabrics and
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  fashion and space exploration. And it unites seemingly
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  disparate worlds. Prada and Axiom are charting
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  course for the future, one that promises to be as stylish as it
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  is ambitious. Now, thank you so much for
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  joining us today on the show. If you found this episode
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  valuable, don't forget to hit the subscribe or follow button
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  It's completely free, takes just a second, and helps us out
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  tremendously. Now remember, each episode, it's
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  designed to be about 10 minutes or under to get you caught up
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  quickly. And until next time, take care
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  of yourselves and each other and I'll see you in the next one.