Promising The Moon

To mark 50 years since its historic arrival on the lunar surface, Omega has created a special edition of the so-called Moonwatch, writes Annie Darling

- Annie Darling

WHEN NEIL ARMSTRONG STEPPED out of the lunar module on July 20, 1969, hundreds of millions of people around the world were squinting at the grainy black-and-white images on their television screens. Once the 38-year-old commander of the historic Apollo 11 mission had descended the ladder and set the first human foot on the moon, they heard his radio back to mission control on Earth, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

After 19min of tentative tests, which included assessing the firmness of the lunar surface and his ability to move about in his bulky spacesuit in the weak lunar gravity, Armstrong’s co-pilot, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, joined him. They set up a television camera, planted an American flag and scooped up rock samples during a moonwalk that lasted just two-and-a-half hours. Their exploits left an indelible footprint in the history of space exploration—and in that of watchmaker Omega, as the mission saw the Omega Speedmaster Professional become the first watch to be worn on the moon.