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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. 
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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.