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I am sure this will be interested for many of you. While you wait for "Omega first man who tripped on the Moon" and "first man hungry on the moon" :) So, here is the press release about the last man on the Moon.
Regards,
Davor
Limited-edition Apollo XVII Speedmaster Professional Chronograph
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The OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Chronograph "Apollo XVII" anniversary edition
Validity: from Sat Dec 14 00:00:00 GMT 2002
to Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT 2004
Introduction
As the only chronograph to be flight-qualified by NASA for manned spaceflight, the Speedmaster chronograph was the only watch to be worn on the moon. OMEGA now celebrates the 30th anniversary of mankind's last visit to moon with a special edition of the very same timepiece used by NASA astronauts that to this day remains one of the best-selling watches in the Swiss watchmaker's collection.
Content
The Speedmaster underwent two full years of rigorous testing - along with chronographs from various other renowned prestige watchmakers - before it was flight-qualified for manned space missions by NASA on 1 March 1965. It was chosen for one simple reason: it was the only chronograph that managed to withstand all of the extreme tests that the American space agency had devised to simulate the conditions that would prevail both on board and outside the spacecraft during the future Apollo lunar programme.
As a result, the Speedmaster became standard issue to all American astronauts on the Apollo programme, accompanying them on each mission and therefore becoming the first and last watch to be worn on the moon, as well as the crucial piece of equipment whose precision helped to save the troubled Apollo XIII mission when the on-board computer systems failed. Furthermore, it is surely far from coincidental that the Russian space agency adopted the Speedmaster as standard equipment after the historic Apollo-Soyuz rendezvous in 1975, covering its requirements totally anonymously by government purchase orders.
When the Apollo XVII crew touched down on 19 December 1972, 12 days, 13 hours and 52 minutes after taking off atop the Saturn V rocket, they brought an era to a close. Mission commander Eugene A. Cernan was the last man to leave his footsteps on the moon after a 75-hour stay on the planet's surface, having covered 30.5 kilometres in the lunar roving vehicle and collected 110.4 kilogrammes of material. It was to be the Speedmaster's last visit to the moon, but by no means its last trip into outer space.
Today, 30 years later, the Speedmaster Professional is still going strong and remains little changed compared with the timepiece that was originally chosen by NASA. The "Moon Watch" retains its black dial with luminous hour markers, luminous hands and stainless steel bezel with a black aluminium ring bearing the tachometer scale. Its manually wound chronograph movement, OMEGA calibre 1861, is a derivative of the famous movement used in the Speedmasters on the Apollo programme, with a rhodium-plated finish and a power reserve of 48 hours. The Apollo XVII commemorative edition is distinguished by a special case back bearing an imprint of the Apollo XVII mission patch with the inscription "E. A. CERNAN APOLLO XVII 12.14.1972 LAST MAN ON THE MOON". Production is limited to 3000 pieces.
The Speedmaster Professional is still the only chronograph to be flight-qualified by NASA for manned spaceflight missions and chosen by the Russian space agency for the same purpose. As such, it is the only watch worn for extra-vehicular activity (EVA) in outer space and is also issued to all visitors to the new International Space Station (ISS) as part of their standard equipment.
Furthermore, Captain Eugene Cernan still wears an OMEGA Speedmaster to this day and continues to captivate audiences worldwide with his stories of life in space and on the moon. As Cernan encourages his listeners to ponder the future of spaceflight, they can be sure of one thing: wherever it may take mankind and whatever it may involve, OMEGA is sure to be a part of it!
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