The first extravehicular suit made in Italy. From alpine sports to the Moon.

The Apulian company Rea Space has unveiled the Futura Suit, designed for extravehicular and surface activities in space. Developed in collaboration with sports technology companies and universities, it aims to enter a new market.

BY EMILIO COZZI

It’s a short list, but one that brings satisfaction and a sense of wonder, not so much from surprise, which would be an understatement, but from sheer amazement.

The context is that in May, at the Osaka Expo, the Apulian company Rea Space unveiled the prototype of the Futura Suit, its first space suit designed for extravehicular activities (both outside an orbiting station and on the lunar surface). It is the first Made in Italy concept and also the first of its kind in Europe.

A couple of years ago, Rea Space had already developed Emsi, an intravehicular space suit designed for use inside a pressurized module. It was worn by Italian astronaut Walter Villadei during the Axiom-3 mission aboard the Crew Dragon.

The list in question refers to the three companies that, together with Rea Space, conceived and shaped the new space suit: Drudi Performance, Tecnica, and Irid.

Excellence

Aldo Drudi is a name well known and often revered by motorcycle racing enthusiasts. The designer from Romagna, based in Riccione, has created many of the helmets and liveries worn by MotoGP riders. He is the mind behind the colorful designs worn over the years by Valentino Rossi, Marco Simoncelli, and Kevin Schwantz. Beyond his creative flair, Drudi’s helmets primarily meet high safety standards. Essential in space.

It is also worth remembering that Drudi and Rea Space won the Compasso d’Oro award in 2024. Drudi, who had already won it in 2001, received it in the “Research for Enterprise” category for the Ride on Colors project linked to the Misano World Circuit. Rea Space received it in the “Work Products” category for the Emsi space suit.

Tecnica, on the other hand, is a brand known to those who prefer hiking mountain trails or skiing snowy slopes to riding motorcycles. The company from Treviso is a world leader in the production of equipment and footwear for winter sports and, thanks to its know-how, contributed to equipping the Futura Suit with moon boots. A significant leap from alpine rocks to lunar ones.

It is also worth noting that this all remains in the realm of action. This is reinforced by Irid Technology, a company specialized in the processing of sports materials. More precisely, visors and eyewear, from motorcycling to skiing, using a special technology that allows the visor to darken or lighten without batteries. All in just a few hundredths of a second during transitions from sunlight to shadow, such as along a road or ski slope, outperforming traditional photochromic technologies. For the Futura Suit helmet, Irid developed the smart visor.

A New Suit

Futura Suit is still a concept, but one worth paying attention to for several reasons. First and foremost, it is not only the first space suit entirely designed in Europe, but also the result of investments and research by private companies and universities working together to create a highly technological product. The Polytechnic University of Bari handled the integration of advanced onboard electronics; the Polytechnic University of Milan developed high-performance smart fabrics; and the Polytechnic University of Turin is responsible for the physiological study of the human body and the management of metabolic heat in microgravity.

Moreover, Rea Space’s design introduces a new paradigm: modular and allowing autonomous donning (current space suits require assistance from another astronaut to be put on). The suit “adapts to the body” and, thanks to innovative materials and a new pressurized membrane, “is lighter and more form-fitting, improving performance without compromising protection,” as stated in the company’s press release. The metabolic heat management system keeps body temperature stable, while the Lss (Life Support System) backpack “allows the suit to adapt to different scenarios, from spacewalks to future lunar and Martian missions.”

A New Market on the Horizon

Futura Suit is an example of how companies with no direct ties to the space sector can find new markets thanks to the momentum that is increasingly driving humans to work in orbit or on extraterrestrial surfaces, namely the Moon or Mars.

Far from being rhetorical, this is a sector where Made in Italy can truly make a difference. One should not overlook, for instance, that the Axiom lunar suit prominently features the Prada logo. Equally important was the contribution of Dallara and Technogym to the Axiom 3 mission. And going further back, Lavazza, Argotec, and the Italian Space Agency enabled astronauts to enjoy an “ISSpresso” brewed from a specially designed machine sent to the International Space Station.

These are significant examples, especially considering that the interiors of one of the upcoming private space stations, Voyager Space’s StarLab, are being designed by none other than Hilton.

In other words, regardless of company size, those who can deliver innovation, advanced technology, and creative flair, in a word, excellence, can quite literally aim for the stars.