Italian fashion house Prada has announced a partnership with Axiom Space, the company making the world's first commercial space station.
Through the groundbreaking tie-up, Prada will develop Nasa lunar spacesuits for the Artemis III mission, planned for 2025.
The suits will be used for the first crewed lunar landing since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. It will also be the first to place a woman on the Moon.
“We are thrilled to partner with Prada on the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEmu) spacesuit,” said Michael Suffredini, chief executive of Axiom Space.
“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.”
To create the suits, the Axiom Space team and Prada engineers will work together to completely redesign existing suits, using state-of-the-art materials and design features. The suits will be more user-friendly, while protecting the crew against the hostile environment of space and the lunar surface, the companies said.
“Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology and design know-how 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 civilisation,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada's group marketing director.
Space has a mean temperature of minus 270°C, making the suits crucial to maintaining the crew's correct body temperature, while offering vital protection from radiation.
As well as supplying the astronaut with oxygen, the suits will also shield them from being hit by space dust, which comprises tiny pieces of rock moving many times faster than a bullet.
Suits to date have been heavy and cumbersome, taking a physical toll on the wearer. It is hoped the new materials developed will help resolve some of these issues, allowing the crew greater freedom of movement, which in turn will impact the exploration and experiments being conducted.
Planned for 2025, the mission is also the first to the previously unexplored lunar South Pole.
Axiom Space operates end-to-end missions to the International Space Station, and is developing its successor, Axiom Station – set to be the world’s first commercial space station in low-Earth orbit.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
