José Fernández, the Mexican costume designer behind the new spacesuits worn by NASA astronauts 

Elon Musk

and SpaceX sent two astronauts to space in the Crew Dragon yesterday but did you know a Mexican costume designer was involved? José Fernández created the spacesuits worn by Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken.

According to reports, Musk was attracted to the aesthetic and designs created by José Fernández , who is behind superhero suits in movies like Wonder Woman , Avengers , The Fantastic 4, among other films.

In an interview with Bleep Magazine, Fernández explained that he “had two weeks to present a proposal and I told them I couldn’t do it but during that time maybe I could create a helmet.”

Later Elon Musk decided to work with the Mexican costume designer . For six months, Fernandéz’s studio Ironhead worked on the spacesuits . According to Vogue México, Musk wanted the suits to look stylish : “It had to be practical but also look great. You look like a hero in the suit, being part of this project was iconic ,” Fernandéz said.

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According to SpaceX , the spacesuit has key features such as a 3D printed spacesuit helmet , touchscreen -compatible gloves, flame resistant outer layer, and hearing protection during ascent and reentry.

Moreover, each suit “can provide a pressurized environmen t for all crew members aboard Dragon in atypical situations. This suit also routes communications and cooling systems to the astronauts aboard Dragon during regular flight.”

José Fernández

has worked in films like Gremlins , Godzilla , Men in Black , Alien III, Batman Returns , Planet of the Apes , Sleepy Hollow, X-Men United, and The Fantastic Four.

NASA

hired SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to transport astronauts to the space station in a new kind of public-private partnership. Development of SpaceX’s Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however. Boeing’s craft is not expected to fly astronauts into space until early 2021.

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