Sidney Wu

NASA is planning to go to the moon for the first time since 1972, during their Apollo 17 mission. But this trip NASA is planning a modern-day twist. Italian fashion designer, Prada, is working with a private company, Axiom Space, to design the astronaut suits for NASA’s Artemis III lunar mission planned for 2025.

Prada and Axiom Space posted the announcement on a shared Instagram post to their combined over 33 million followers.

Many followers commented expressing their excitement for the upcoming designer suits.

However, many people online also had conflicting opinions. People took to Twitter to express disbelief in the collaboration.

In an interview with the BBC a NASA astronaut reassured skeptics that the new Prada design will still be completely functional and up to code for astronauts. He added that people should not expect to see any fancy patterns or designs on the new suits.

The press release revealed Axiom will guide Prada with their expertise in space to use innovative technologies to allow for “greater exploration of the lunar surface than ever before.”

People on Twitter got crafty while trying to imagine what the Prada astronaut mock-ups would look like.

NASA has yet to comment or post about the collaboration.

From a PR perspective, I think that NASA was smart to include a mainstream brand into the world of space and science. By collaborating with the designer brand it can alert Prada shoppers about news that they may have never heard due to lack of interest or awareness of NASA. This marketing move will definitely grow NASA’s audience and create a lot of anticipation for the 2025 launch.

PR moves I’d make if I were on the NASA/Prada marketing team

• Have a popular influencer who is affiliated with Prada (like TikTok influencer Charli D’amelio) create a video talking about astronaut suit design predictions. This will help grow NASA’s audience to a younger generation and create an entertainment appeal to fashion junkies.
• NASA should finally release a statement and show a sneak peek of the astronaut suit design. It is important that everyone involved posts on their social media about the collaboration to grow more awareness.
• Create a commercial to be broadcasted on cable TV or streaming service advertisement. The commercial should be creative to immediately draw viewers’ attention to inform them about the collaboration and moon launch. An idea can be: astronauts attempting to walk down a runway on the moon without gravity. This can highlight the new moon landing as well as feature Prada’s products.