Jet Propelled

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with a trip to NASA’s JPL in the Corvette Z06

July 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the eight-day Apollo 11 mission that culminated with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first two humans to set foot on the moon, while Michael Collins flew the command module in lunar orbit awaiting their return. Today, NASA is preparing for a return to the moon in 2024 to establish a permanent presence — a project that aims to both further human understanding of the moon and allow for future trips to Mars and deep space.

Such a momentous occasion combined with the prospect of exciting new developments in space exploration prompted BOSS to pay a visit to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. Of course, any good road trip requires the right vehicle, so we took a car that astronauts would choose, a Corvette Z06.

CORVETTES AND THE EARLY ASTRONAUTS

The tradition of astronauts driving Corvettes dates to the Mercury Seven, the original seven American astronauts chosen to be part of Project Mercury in 1959. Alan Shepard, one of the seven, arrived at space training in a 1957 Corvette. Shepard’s fellow test pilots were all fond of the car’s looks, speed, and handling.

After Shepard became the first American in space in 1961, Jim Rathmann, a Florida Chevrolet/Cadillac dealer and former Indianapolis 500 champion, rewarded the Mercury Seven by giving them each the car of their choosing for $1. Six of the astronauts chose Corvettes; John Glenn chose an NSU Prinz because it got better gas mileage and he wanted to save money for his kids’ college tuition.