Oakley’s Most Ambitious Eyewear to Date Is Made for the Moon. Literally

Leave it to Oakley to go its own way.

Celebrating 50 years in operation at its headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California, the pioneering eyewear manufacturer chose to focus less on where it’s been but where it’s heading.

And, if all goes according to plan, it could take them to the moon and back. Literally.

Part of Artemis III

Revealed during the brand’s birthday celebrations, Oakley confirmed it will supply the visor system for the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) — the space suit that will be used by Moon-bound astronauts as part of NASA’s Artemis III mission.

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“The next person to walk on the Moon will be wearing Oakley’s next-gen High-Definition Optics, and that’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly,” says Ryan Saylor, SVP of advanced product development at Oakley.

That responsibility is more than a matter of optics.

Astronauts face some of the most demanding conditions known to man, starting with radiation from direct solar exposure. It’s also just incredibly bright — all the time.

On the ISS, for example, astronauts experience a new sunrise roughly every 45 minutes. And light bends differently beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, casting harsher highlights and darker shadows.

To combat those extraterrestrial conditions, Oakley leaned on half a century of optical innovation to devise a two-part deployable visor that allows astronauts to quickly adjust their equipment depending on the level of light.

Oakley

A gold coating will shield astronauts from the harshest rays, which measure lose to infrared levels, while a special treatment to reduce haze optimizes the helmet’s visual clarity. Meanwhile, secondary bubble’s primary function is to block UV radiation.

Finally, a scratch-resistant coating — derived from decades of experience building frames for intense athletic pursuits — will act as a buffer against lunar dust and micrometeorites.

Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Half a century in the making

According to NASA, Artemis III remains on track to launch in 2027 — more than 52 after the last manned mission to the Moon in 1972.

Although the organization has yet to confirm which astronauts will be part of that journey, details continue to emerge around other gear making the trip.

Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Instead of Hasselblads, for example, the astronauts will each be equipped with a Nikon Z9.

Also, Axiom Space collaborated with luxury fashion house Prada on the suit’s external design and material makeup.

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