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Top fashion designer Prada collaborates on design of new NASA spacesuits

Prada is collaborating on the design of spacesuits.

Photo courtesy of Axiom Space

NASA astronauts are getting a fashion boost, courtesy of the Prada luxury brand. The Italian fashion house known for its sophisticated and minimalist designs is collaborating with Texas-based aerospace company Axiom Space on the design of spacesuits for NASA’s Artemis III mission to the moon.

Astronauts haven’t yet been chosen for the mission, which is set for 2025.

“Prada’s technical expertise with raw materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovative design concepts will bring advanced technologies instrumental in ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, but also the much-needed human factor considerations absent from legacy spacesuits,” says Michael Suffredini, co-founder, president, and CEO of Axiom Space, in a release.

The spacesuit, called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), is geared toward improving astronauts’ flexibility, boosting protection against harsh conditions, and supplying tools for exploration and scientific activities.

Prada is one of the top names in fashion but is also known for functional designs in items like backpacks and sneakers.

“Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology, and design know-how – which started back in the ’90s with Luna Rossa challenging for the America’s Cup – will now be applied to the design of a spacesuit for the Artemis era. It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilization,” says Lorenzo Bertelli, marketing director of the Prada brand.

NASA has enlisted Axiom and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Collins Aerospace to outfit astronauts with next-generation spacesuits. Axiom’s partners on this project are KBR and Sophic Synergistics, both based in Houston, along with Air-Lock, A-P-T Research, Arrow Science and Technology, David Clark Co., and Paragon Space Development.

Collins maintains a sizable presence at the Houston Spaceport.

In July, Axiom secured a NASA task order potentially worth $147 million to modify the Artemis III spacesuit for astronauts heading to the International Space Station. This follows a $228 million NASA task order awarded to Axiom in 2022 for development of the Artemis III spacesuit.

The task orders are part of Axiom’s $1.26 billion spacesuit contract with NASA. All told, NASA has earmarked as much as $3.5 billion for new spacesuits.

This story originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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Artificial Intelligence News

Google to invest $40 billion on AI data centers in Texas

Google

Google data center

Google is investing a huge chunk of money in Texas: According to a release, the company will invest $40 billion on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, with the development of new data centers in Armstrong and Haskell Counties.

The company announced its intentions at a meeting on November 14 attended by federal, state, and local leaders including
Governor Greg Abbott who called it "a Texas-sized investment."

Other attendees included Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly, Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Congressman Jake Ellzey (R-TX 06), Haskell County Judge Kenny Thompson, Armstrong County Judge Adam Ensey, Red Oak Mayor Mark Stanfill, and Midlothian Mayor Justin Coffman.

Google will open two new data center campuses in Haskell County, and a data center campus in Armstrong County.

Additionally, the first building at the company’s Red Oak campus in Ellis County is now operational. Google is continuing to invest in its existing Midlothian campus and Dallas cloud region, which are part of the company’s global network of 42 cloud regions that deliver high-performance, low-latency services that businesses and organizations use to build and scale their own AI-powered solutions.

Energy demands
Google is committed to responsibly growing its infrastructure by bringing new energy resources onto the grid, paying for costs associated with its operations, and supporting community energy efficiency initiatives.

One of the new Haskell data centers will be co-located with — or built directly alongside — a new solar and battery energy storage plant, creating the first industrial park to be developed through Google’s partnership with Intersect and TPG Rise Climate announced last year.

Google has contracted to add more than 6,200 megawatts (MW) of net new energy generation and capacity to the Texas electricity grid through power purchase agreements (PPAs) with energy developers such as AES Corporation, Enel North America, Intersect, Clearway, ENGIE, SB Energy, Ørsted, and X-Elio.

Water demands
Google’s three new facilities in Armstrong and Haskell Counties will use air-cooling technology, limiting water use to site operations like kitchens. The company is also contributing $2.6 million to help Texas Water Trade create and enhance up to 1,000 acres of wetlands along the Trinity-San Jacinto Estuary. Google is also sponsoring a regenerative agriculture program with Indigo Ag in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and an irrigation efficiency project with N-Drip in the Texas High Plains.

Google is committing $7 million in grants to support AI-related initiatives in healthcare, energy, and education across the state. This includes helping CareMessage enhance rural healthcare access; enabling The University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University to address energy challenges that will arise with all this new AI stuff, and expanding AI training for Texas educators and students through support to Houston City College.

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