(Adds comments from press conference)

By Elisa Anzolin

MILAN, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Italian luxury group Prada

and Houston-based startup Axiom Space unveiled on Wednesday the design of a spacesuit that will be used for NASA's Artemis 3 mission to the moon that is planned for 2026.

In its outward appearance, the spacesuit does not stray too far from what astronauts have worn in the past. It is the familiar bulky white suit, with added red trim and grey patches on the knees and elbows.

The new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), as the suit is known, was showcased at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. It aims to combine highly engineered functionality and aesthetics to deal with challenging lunar conditions.

Artemis 3 is planned as the first astronaut moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.

The spacesuits were made to withstand extreme temperatures at the lunar south pole and endure the coldest temperatures in the permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours, the two companies said in a joint statement.

Astronauts will be able to perform spacewalks for at least eight hours.

The AxEMU has already undergone extensive testing, included underwater to simulate the lunar environment. It is nearing the final development stage, the two companies said.

"I'm very proud of the result we're showing today, which is just the first step in a long-term collaboration with Axiom Space," Prada's Chief Marketing Officer Lorenzo Bertelli said in a statement.

Matt Ondler, Axiom Space President, said the design had been boosted by combining the skills of workers from the two groups.

"Innovation really comes when we put diverse teams together, diverse backgrounds, different educations, different skills," said Ondler.

As the space exploration and tourism industries develop, luxury brands are exploring possible partnerships.

Last month French fashion house Pierre Cardin unveiled an astronaut training suit, set to be used at the European Space Agency's centre in Cologne.

Hotel group Hilton is working with Voyager Space to support the design and development of crew suites aboard planned commercial space station Starlab.

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin Editing by Keith Weir)

((elisa.anzolin@thomsonreuters.com; 0039 0266129692;))