GoKawiilUnderneath the bulky white spacesuits we're all familiar with, astronauts wear a tight-fitting undergarment called the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG). Think of it as the spaceman's long johns. While past versions of this inner suit looked like the world's most expensive pajamas, this new version more closely resembles a sleek superhero outfit.
While the new suit's Marvel aesthetics may help with NASA's marketing (and therefore funding), its intricately woven tubing is more practical. Without it, you'd quickly die of heatstroke and organ failure. See, in space, body heat has nowhere to go without active cooling. And missions on the lunar surface require plenty of physical effort, which would only hasten your demise.
The LCVG's tubes circulate cold water across your major muscle groups, absorbing your metabolic heat. They then pump it out to the oversized backpack known as the portable life support system. There's even a fully redundant cooling circuit in case the primary one fails. Always nice to have a backup.
So, where does Prada come in? Axiom suggests the Italian fashion house's expertise in engineered knitting and manufacturing capabilities were big draws. But it's probably no coincidence that Prada's onstage representative at the unveiling was its chief marketing officer. For better or worse, people are more likely to care when they see something that looks more like Steve Rogers's suit than a pair of tubed-up long underwear.