Martian Aerogel Jacket

Built with the same advanced aerogel and parachutes that land Rovers on Mars.

£2,445
Size

Model is 6ft 1 / 185cm with a 39 inch / 99cm chest, and wears size Medium.

  • Ultra thin, lightweight and flexible aerogel insulation
  • Outer shell and lining made from space parachutes
  • Lab tested to -20°C
This entire jacket is built from two materials that count ‘travelling through space’ as their day job. On the inside is a completely new type of aerogel built by the same team making the new aerogel heat shield for the next Mars Rover. Laser-drilled with hundreds of micropores it’s the first aerogel in the world that’s flexible, durable, and waterproof.

Protecting the aerogel is an outer shell built with the only fabric that’s currently on Earth, Mars and Titan – an extreme strength parachute used to land the first probe on Titan and the last Rover on Mars. The jacket’s soft metallic look, black contrast seam taping and zigzag stitching are based on the aluminised nylon and angled zippers of the early Project Mercury spacesuits. And the outer shell is designed with a transparent finish to create a window into the laser-drilled aerogel technology underneath.

Technical Details

Insulation made in the US: 80% organic rubber foam, 20% silica aerogel
Outer material and lining made in the UK: 100% polyamide
Insulation constructed with laser-drilled micropores for breathability
Two zipped chest pockets
Two side pockets with storm flaps and metal snap fasteners
Two way front zipper with oversized pull cord
Peaked hood with rear cord adjuster
Cuffs with metal snap adjusters
Taped seams and zigzag stitching
Outer material and lining weigh 67g/m2
Jacket weighs 700 grams
Constructed in Romania
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This jacket is the story of two otherworld materials

Inside this jacket is a completely new type of aerogel built by the same team building the new aerogel heat shield for the next Mars Rover. And protecting the inside is an outer shell built with the only fabric currently on Earth, Mars and Titan – an extreme strength parachute used to land the first probe on Titan and the last Rover on Mars.

A completely new type of aerogel. Flexible, durable, waterproof

If you’ve never heard of aerogel before, it’s an insulator, and an astonishingly effective one. Which is exactly why NASA use it to line spacesuits. It’s almost impossible for cold air to pass through it as its individual nanopores are 10,000 times thinner than a human hair. But while lots of aerogel composites now exist, most are still physically weak or don’t actually contain much aerogel. And that’s because in its raw form it’s not only fragile, but disintegrates when it gets wet. Ours is different. It’s the first aerogel that is flexible, durable, and waterproof.

It's taken 10 years of R&D

When we first started talking the aerogel insulation in this jacket hadn’t even been invented yet. They were still in the middle of an R&D challenge that’s taken them 10 years to solve – which is how do you create aerogel composites that maintain incredible insulation properties at the same time as making them durable? Their solution represents a breakthrough. The aerogel in this jacket is not only flexible, durable, and waterproof, but there’s also very simply a lot of it. Half the volume, and 20% of the total weight is aerogel, which is enormous considering aerogel is only 3x more dense than air.

Ultra-thin aerogel insulation with laser-drilled micropores

The solution combines aerogel with an organic foam to create an ultra-thin, highly flexible, waterproof sheet. The sheet is just two millimetres thick and comes laser-drilled with hundreds of micropores for enhanced breathability. And it has incredible thermal performance for its thickness and weight. Unlike regular down insulation, it can be totally compressed or soaked in water and still carry on insulating. While it’s never been used in regular clothing before, it’s currently being trialled in rescue dive suits deployed in the freezing waters of the Baltic Sea.

Protecting the aerogel inside this jacket is an outer shell built with the only fabric currently on Earth, Mars and Titan – an extreme strength parachute used to land the first probe on Titan and the last Rover on Mars.

We wrap the aerogel in NASA parachutes

Protecting the aerogel is a material that’s just as advanced. On 18 February 2021, the Perseverance Rover was heading towards Mars at 20,000kmph, or Mach 16. It needed something to slow it down. And to do this it deployed a parachute that reduced its speed by over 98% in just a couple of seconds to 320kmph. The impact shock of slamming on the brakes at hypersonic speed is incredible. But NASA had created the lightest, strongest and most temperature resistant parachute fabric ever produced. And we use this exact material to build the outer shell and inner lining of the Aerogel Jacket.

An aerogel hood and a two-way front zipper

The peaked hood is lined with aerogel insulation just like the rest of the jacket and tightens with a cord adjuster at the back. The cuffs tighten with metal snaps to create a seal around your wrists, while the hem can also be tightened with cord adjusters to prevent cold air from getting in at your waist. And the two-way front zipper comes fitted with an oversized pull cord so it’s easy to grab even when you’re wearing thick gloves.

Size + Fit

The Aerogel Jacket is designed with a regular fit.

Size XS S M L XL XXL
Fits chest 83 - 90 91 - 98 99 - 106 107 - 114 115 - 122 123 - 130
Fits waist 71 - 76 76 - 81 81 - 86 86 - 91 91 - 96 96 - 101
Size XS S M L XL XXL
Fits chest 33 - 36 36 - 39 39 - 42 42 - 45 45 - 48 48 - 51
Fits waist 28 - 30 30 - 32 32 - 34 34 - 36 36 - 38 38 - 40