This Rare Omega Watch Just Flew on Artemis II

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Before launching on NASA’s first crewed moon mission in over 50 years, the Artemis II astronauts strapped on a piece of gear with serious history: the Omega Speedmaster X-33. Built specifically for spaceflight by Omega, this analog-digital watch delivers mission-critical timing, alarms, and tracking tools—proving that even in the age of advanced spacecraft, a wristwatch still plays a vital role beyond Earth.

In the age of space travel, a wrist watch may seem a bit anachronistic. But for anyone who has seen Apollo 13, or read the book on which it’s based, Lost Moon the Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, the importance of taking a precision timepiece off world is obvious. During the ill-fated mission’s spacecraft suffered a catastrophic failure to its electrical and life-support systems. To survive, the astronauts had to rely on back-systems and manually fire timed rocket bursts to realign the craft for re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Commander Jim Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise used their Omega Speedmasters to accurately time the engines and create a survivable angle for the return home. 

More than 50 years later, NASA’s astronauts still rely on Omega watches. The Speedmaster X-33 was originally designed and built in the 1990s with feedback from NASA’s astronauts and test pilots. The 45mm titanium chronograph uses both analog hands and digital LCD screens. The digital displays project mission elapsed time, alarms, a GMT, chronograph, day-date, and countdown timers, giving the explorers mission-critical information at a glance. The watch uses a Omega 1666 quartz movement to power its multi-functionality.

While Omega produced two generations of the NASA-qualified Speedmaster X-33, the design was discontinued for public purchase back in 2006. (If you want one, you’ll need to comb through the secondary market.) The four watches worn by Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen were issued directly from NASA’s inventory of qualified flight hardware.