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Hidden gems from the NASA photo archive

SpeedyPhill
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MoonwatchUniverse is ready for 2026 :
Just for those curious about NASA astronaut photos showing Omega Speedmaster or flightmaster:
Thus far 28 portraits:
1966: Armstrong, Stafford
1971: Bean, Brand, Cernan, Duke, Engle, Shepard and Young
1972: Mattingly, Young
1974: Cernan, Slayton, Leonov (flightmaster)
1980: Schmitt, Brand, Engle, Dana, ...
most recent:
Mark Kelly (2005 = X33), Fuhrman (2025 =Moonphase) and Jonny Kim (2025 = Seamaster)
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MOONWATCH-UNIVERSE.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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1959, November 4... NASA flight medicine.
US Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Dolores Dee O'Hara became the first staff nurse for the NASA "Mercury 7" astronauts, stationed at the AeroMed Laboratory of Hangar S at Cape Canaveral Florida.
NASA Nurse Dee O'hara assisted in pre & postflight medical checks of the astronauts. In 1963 she was officially assigned as the Office Nurse in Cocoa Beach, Florida but resigned from USAF to become a full NASA nurse to set up the Medicine Flight Clinic at the MSC in Houston Texas.
O'Hara participated in every launch in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo-Skylab and the ASTP program. In 1981, she assisted during the Columbia space shuttle mission STS-1.
In this photograph, Dee O'Hara was wearing her 1961 Elgin little diamond ladies wrist watch.
(Photo: USAF/NASA) #moonwatchuniverse #NASA
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DEE_oHARA_ELGIN.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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For those who commented: She doesn't look like the nurse in the movie "The Right Stuff"...
Well the nurse in the movie was a nurse during the 1958-1959 astronaut selection process, so not Dee O'hara. The astronaut selection process took place at the Lovelace clinic in Albuquerque followed by psychological & stress tests at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio.
 
SpeedyPhill
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CASIO Discovery.webp
Yes, CASIO watches have been worn onboard the Space Shuttle since 1982 !
(photo: NASA)
 
SpeedyPhill
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After his Omega Speedmaster X33, Omega Seamaster, 3 Rolex watches (Submariner, GMT-master and Daytona), yet another wrist watch...
ISS Expedition 72/73 member NASA astronaut Jonathan "Jonny" Kim wearing his sixth different wrist watch onboard the International Space Station... 228 days & counting...
(Photo: NASA)
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2025_Nov_JonnyKIM.webp
 
J!m
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Is that six watches on one tour, or multiple tours?
 
SpeedyPhill
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J!m J!m
Is that six watches on one tour, or multiple tours?
The Soyuz MS-27 mission to the ISS is US Navy seal, flight surgeon Jonathan "Jonny" Kim's first spaceflight and thus far he has been wearing at least 6 different watches!
See topics like:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/astronauts-wore-rolex-gmts-and-not-just-speedmasters-say-it-isnt-so.21667/ Cover Image
Thread 'Astronauts wore Rolex GMT's and not just Speedmasters. Say it isn't so...' ·
I posted this over in the Rolex forum but I thought there may be a little interest here as well since many of us have a bit of space geek in us.

My interest and research is confined to a very...
TLIGuy ·
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2025_Nov20_JonnyKIM.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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Anno 2025, using a wrist watch timer onboard ISS..
US Navy flight surgeon NASA astronaut Jonathan "Jonny" Kim using his personal Omega Seamaster Diver 300M toolwatch to time experiments.
As an ISS Expedition 72/73 astronaut, Jonny Kim already spent 240 days & counting in space and he brought at least seven different watches, among which a Seiko Prospex, 3 Omega (X-33, Semaster and Speedmaster Flight Qualified Mil pilot version) and 3 Rolex, Daytona, GMT-master and Submariner.
(Photo: NASA)
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2025_MS27-Seamaster.webp
Edited:
 
SpeedyPhill
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Tempus Fugit... Space watches photo-of-the-year
MoonwatchUniverse's choice goes for the July 2025 photo showing the Axiom-4 crew members together with the ISS Expedition 72/73 resident crew holding hands, clearly showing their Space Agency issued and personal wrist watches.
Clockwise we can spot a Rolex GMT-master, a Breitling Navitimer chronograph, twice an Omega Speedmaster X-33 and the ActiWatch, the latter a device that measures exposure to light and sleep/awake rythm.
Spacefarers' nations: USA, Hungary, India, Japan and Poland.
(Photo: ESA/ISRO/JAXA/NASA)
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2025_NASA_ESA_MoonwatchUniverse.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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NASA astronaut Edward White explains procedures to the Lovell family during the Gemini VII mission (11 DEC 165)... and the Gemini VII crew post-flight returning to NASA (22 DEC 1965)
Packing our bags with two more photos...
In an age of more AI-images, it's important to use the correct official NASA photo number and date, in this case S65-61657 and 104-KSC-365-182/7
Enough is enough or as the Latin phrase says " Satis est " 🫡
(Photos: NASA) #MoonwatchUniverse
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S65-61657_LovellFamily-11DEC.webp 65-Dec22.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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Just a few minutes short of 245 days... Jonathan "Jonny" Kim record-holder with at least 7 watches
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FlightQualified.webp 245Days.webp
 
DoctorEvil
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
Just a few minutes short of 245 days... Jonathan "Jonny" Kim record-holder with at least 7 watches
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FlightQualified.webp 245Days.webp
The upper photo appears to show him wearing the military version of the Speedmaster "Flight Qualified". As far as I know, Omega made this watch for military pilots to purchase privately and they can be personalized with the squadron crest on the case back. I thought Navy Seals can purchase a special Seamaster Pro instead? Unless Omega allows NASA astronauts to also get the military version of the "Flight Qualified"?
 
TLIGuy
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DoctorEvil DoctorEvil
The upper photo appears to show him wearing the military version of the Speedmaster "Flight Qualified". As far as I know, Omega made this watch for military pilots to purchase privately and they can be personalized with the squadron crest on the case back. I thought Navy Seals can purchase a special Seamaster Pro instead? Unless Omega allows NASA astronauts to also get the military version of the "Flight Qualified"?
Kim is not only a SEAL, MD, and astronaut he is also dual designated as a Naval aviator and flight surgeon so he presumably would have access to the new military dial Speedmaster Pilot via the military pilot purchase program.

In short, Jonny Kim is super human and can probably have any watch he wants. You want to tell him no?
Edited:
 
SpeedyPhill
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55 years ago... NASA official astronaut WSS portraits
During the last week of December 1970, NASA decided to make WSS - White Space Suit portraits of those active astronauts who still didn't have such an official portrait.
Although taken in late December 1970, these official NASA photo series were in the photo number S71- range ( S71-52260 to S71-52284): e.g. S71-52262 = Jack Lousma.
Note Swigert wore a Gold Rolex GMT-master 1675, Joe Engle a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster 105.003 while Robert Parker and Donald Holmquest wore a Benrus 3818b 24 hours dial wrist watch.
In this way, we got a good photo of Swigert's Gold Rolex GMT-master 1675 which he received in return for his steel space-flown 1675, in October 1970 while visiting Switzerland during the Apollo 13 tour.
Nowadays, Swigert’s Apollo 13 spaceflown GMT-master 1675 resides in the private Rolex museum in Geneva - Switzerland. It looks like Rolex has the most different space-flown wrist watch versions, as at least 8 were worn in space (GMT-master, GMT-master II, Datejust, Daytona 6263, Submariner, Sea Dweller, Yachtmaster and Oysterquartz).
(Photo: NASA S71-52266)
1970_WSS-MWU-.webp
 
bsowers34
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
55 years ago... NASA official astronaut WSS portraits
During the last week of December 1970, NASA decided to make WSS - White Space Suit portraits of those active astronauts who still didn't have such an official portrait.
Although taken in late December 1970, these official NASA photo series were in the photo number S71- range ( S71-52260 to S71-52284): e.g. S71-52262 = Jack Lousma.
Note Swigert wore a Gold Rolex GMT-master 1675, Joe Engle a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster 105.003 while Robert Parker and Donald Holmquest wore a Benrus 3818b 24 hours dial wrist watch.
In this way, we got a good photo of Swigert's Gold Rolex GMT-master 1675 which he received in return for his steel space-flown 1675, in October 1970 while visiting Switzerland during the Apollo 13 tour.
Nowadays, Swigert’s Apollo 13 spaceflown GMT-master 1675 resides in the private Rolex museum in Geneva - Switzerland. It looks like Rolex has the most different space-flown wrist watch versions, as at least 8 were worn in space (GMT-master, GMT-master II, Datejust, Daytona 6263, Submariner, Sea Dweller, Yachtmaster and Oysterquartz).
(Photo: NASA S71-52266)
1970_WSS-MWU-.webp
If Sweigert was wearing a Rolex, why do we have Silver Snoopys? Or was he wearing both?
 
SpeedyPhill
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@bsowers34
Indeed, Apollo 13 CMP John "Jack" Swigert both wore a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster (105.012-66 NASA S/N 69) and his personal Rolex GMT-master 1675 pilot watch which he had been wearing since 1967.
Jack Swigert was support astronaut for both Apollo 1 (1967) and Apollo 7 (1968) while the first NASA photos showing him wearing an Omega Speedmaster are dated summer 1969, training as Apollo 13 backup CMP.
During the Apollo 13 mishap, it was Swigert who timed the 14 seconds LM DPS burn using Commander Lovell's NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster S/N 70 (a 105.012 version).
In October 1970, during a two weeks European Goodwill tour, while in Switzerland Swigert was offered a Gold Rolex GMT-master and he gave his space-flown steel 1675 to Rolex in return.
Photo-research-wise it looks like afterwards, and up to his death Swigert only wore that Gold Rolex pilot watch.
(Photos: AP/NASA/MWU-collection)
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MWU-SWIGERT-ROLEX.webp
More info & photos:
https://omegaforums.net/posts/2469583/ SpeedyPhill
SpeedyPhill ·
55 years ago, first Rolex in lunar orbit...
1970, April 11 Apollo 13 launchday, CMP - Command Module Pilot John “Jack” Swigert dons his A7L pressure suit on launchday of the historic mission. Swigert was a last minute replacement CMP Command Module Pilot for Thomas Mattingly.
Note the Apollo 13 "Ex Luna Scientia" mission logo on the A7L Apollo spacesuit. Apollo 13 marks the first time a Rolex wristwatch was flown to the Moon as Swigert had chosen to wear his personal Rolex GMT-master 1675 Pepsi pilot wrist watch underneath the white space suit. Only X-15 test pilot William...
 
TLIGuy
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I like spying astronaut watches in places other than their wrists.

I noticed this X-33 on the table next to Artemis II Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen during launch day suit-up training. It appears to have either a second strap or a black elastic extension combined with the Omega Kevlar strap. (CREDIT - NASA)
Image.webp Image.webp
 
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