American astronaut Wally Schirra wore his own Speedmaster on his Mercury mission on 3 October 1962. It marked the occasion of the very first OMEGA in space.

NASA would later then request quotes for wrist chronographs with OMEGA was one of four companies that submitted watches for testing. This would culminate in NASA declaring the OMEGA Speedmaster "flight-qualified for all manned space missions" in 1965, first launching with Gemini 3 on March 23.

Only three months later, Edward White wore his Speedmaster on America's first spacewalk on his Gemini 4 mission.

On the historic date of 21 July 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the lunar surface, the Speedmaster would then become known as the Moonwatch.

Key events to follow include the April of 1970 when the Apollo 13 astronauts used their Speedmasters to time critical engine burns that led to their safe return. This was followed by in 1972 with the last man to walk on the Moon, Gene Cernan, who also wore an OMEGA, marking the three and a half years since that "giant leap for mankind."

Finally, in the July of 1975 when the American Apollo rocket docked with the Soviet Union's Soyuz in space, all the American Astronauts and Russian Cosmonauts wore Speedmasters.

And thus for well over half a century, the Speedmaster has witnessed events that have tested the limits of physical endurance and human courage, from the first manned lunar landing in July of 1969 and every one of NASA's piloted missions since March of 1965.

Truly a watch that has been there alongside mankind's great achievements.

Find out more about the new Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph