Jesse James
The brand with the three stripes is looking to outer space for their next great feat. adidas has announced a partnership with the International Space Station. The goal of the partnership is to explore product innovation and performance outside of Earth’s gravitational pull. The partnership means that the brand will become the first to test footwear in the specific conditions of outer space. They’ve already set the groundwork through initial testing with its soccer balls, which were launched into space earlier this year.
The partnership will begin with adidas sending BOOST pellets and footwear samples to the ISS National Lab onboard a future SpaceX cargo mission. Astronauts onboard will aim to find out if producing BOOST midsoles with different particle sizes is possible. They will test the BOOST midsole creation process in conditions without gravity.
ISS’ VP of Programs and Partnerships, Christine Kretz, spoke about the experiments. She stated: “The unique conditions of space provide the ideal environment to discover the unknown.” She went on to add, “For example, microgravity is the only condition in which we can observe specific experiments like the behavior of a spinning soccer ball without interrupting airflow and external supports holding it in place. Having control of certain variables allows us to conduct tests and collect insights that aren’t possible on Earth.”
adidas also plans to find out more about performance, observing the astronaut’s training regimens. The brand hopes to apply the findings to its LOOP circular manufacturing process. The partnership is set to begin as early as 2020. Learn more over on the adidas blog. Keep it locked with The Culture Curators for more on this coming very soon.
Photos via adidas
