A piece of Puglia, and Italy, is reaching for the stars. From May 10 to May 15, REA Space, a young innovative company from the Italian region of Puglia and alumni of ESA BIC Turin, represented regional excellence at EXPO 2025 in Osaka, within the Italian Pavilion.
A relevant milestone, which culminated on May 12 with the world premiere presentation of the first prototype of a custom-made European Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) suit.
This revolution stems from a far-sighted vision: as the European space economy continues to expand and space missions multiply, the need for more flexible, accessible, and high-performing equipment becomes increasingly crucial. REA Space’s EVA project “Futura Suit” embodies this ambition, the result of a collaborative effort that brought together some of the finest industrial, academic, and technological expertise from across Italy and Europe.
The result is a suit that breaks all conventions: no longer rigid, standardized models, but a custom-designed system tailored to fit each astronaut’s body, ensuring enhanced comfort, mobility, and safety in extreme conditions. Thanks to innovative materials and a newly developed pressurized membrane, the suit is lighter, slimmer, and provides improved performance without compromising protection.
An advanced metabolic heat management system ensures a constant body temperature, while the modular LSS backpack allows the suit to adapt to various mission scenarios, from spacewalks to future lunar and Martian explorations. Another groundbreaking feature is its self-donning system, enabling astronauts to put on the suit independently, thus redefining operational autonomy during missions.
However, this project’s true strength lies not only in its technical innovation, but in the power of collaboration: a shared vision, and Italian excellence committed to serving humanity's future in space. REA Space brought together a forward-thinking partnership of leading innovators:
The suit's design is signed by Drudi Performance, an Italian leader in technical design for motorsport (and beyond), which brought to the EVA project its unique ability to merge functionality with visual expressiveness.
The boots, specifically designed to ensure comfort and safety in extreme environmental conditions, were conceived and developed by Tecnica Group, a global leader in outdoor footwear and winter sports equipment, backed by over sixty years of expertise in advanced materials research and the creation of groundbreaking products.
The smart visor technology was created by IRID, an innovative Italian company specializing in photochromic lenses and sensors, which adapted its solutions to the space environment.
The life support system (LSS) was developed by professionals with proven experience in international space programs, including those led by NASA.
Three prestigious Italian universities contributed with scientific excellence: Politecnico di Bari, responsible for the integration of advanced onboard electronics; Politecnico di Milano, which led the development of high-performance smart fabrics; and Politecnico di Torino, which focused on human physiology and metabolic heat regulation in microgravity.
The Apulian start-up has already developed strong connections within the academic ecosystem of Turin, having been incubated at ESA BIC Turin, the European Space Agency's incubation program managed by I3P with the scientific and technological support of Politecnico di Torino and LINKS Foundation.
This initiative is part of a broader growth path that REA Space is pursuing also thanks to the contribution of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), which in January 2024 enabled the company to take a historic step forward: the first orbital test of EMSi, the intravehicular suit designed to counteract the effects of microgravity on the human body. The test, conducted aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon during the private Ax-3 mission, marked the operational debut of REA Space’s technology in orbit. In June 2024, the EMSi spacesuit also won the prestigious design award Compasso d'Oro.
EMSi represented the first milestone in a journey that culminated in the development of the new EVA suit, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to transforming research into tangible solutions ready to meet the challenges of future long-duration space missions.
"We have always believed that the future of space must be built together," the REA Space team explained. "This project is not just a technological achievement; it is a statement of possibility: it demonstrates that Europe can lead space exploration with solutions that are proprietary, human-centered, and innovative."
In a global context where access to space is increasingly strategic — and Europe is investing heavily in autonomous launchers and infrastructure — developing a European EVA suit becomes a crucial asset. In this scenario, a startup from Puglia stands alongside major international players, driven by a clear mission: to make space more accessible, safer, and more human.
