Space travellers of the future may look more like superheroes than conventional astronauts, after SpaceX hired the Hollywood costume designer behind the suits of Iron Man and Batman.

Elon Musk's space company hired costume designer Jose Fernandez, whose costumes have appeared inBatman v Superman, Iron Man, The Avengers and Tron: Legacy.

"SpaceX, the company run by Elon Musk, reached out to me to ask if I would create a spacesuit," Fernandez told Bleep. "I didn't know what SpaceX was and I thought it was a film. Then I realized it's an actual space program.

"The look they are going to unveil in the next few months is something we created here in the studio. [Musk] wanted it to look stylish. It had to be practical but also needed to look great."