The Lunar Pilot

This is the Bulova Lunar Pilot. It is the only independent watch to be worn on the moon.

It was, of course, an accident given all NASA approved watches for astronauts were Omega Speedmasters.

The story begins with Apollo 15, which landed on the moon on July 30th, 1971, roughly a month after I was born.

Mission Commander David Scott was exploring the lunar surface. During that moonwalk the crystal on his Speedmaster popped off, apparently because of heat. Scott would return to the Lunar module and put on his back up watch, a Bulova Chronograph model #88510/01.

It was not the first Bulova technically on the moon. In 1969 a Bulova Accuton clock was left on the moon’s surface. It was an integral part of the spacecraft’s computer system, left behind to control data transmissions back to Earth.

Scott’s dilemma was different altogether.

While NASA had a long relationship with Bulova, Scott bringing a Bulova as a backup watch was new. After his Speedmaster failed he relied on the Bulova making it the only non-Omega worn on the moon.

I have timed the movement of my Lunar Pilot  against my Hi Beat Grand Seiko and it’s almost identical, which is saying something.

Commander Scott’s Bulova Chronograph would eventually sell at auction for 1,636,000 dollars, making it the most expensive Bulova in history.