As of July 20th, it will be officially 45 years since astronauts first walked on the moon. To mark the occasion, General Electric has teamed up with high-end footwear manufacturer Android Homme and clothing retailer JackThreads to create a limited-edition sneaker known as The Missions. The shoe was inspired by the Apollo 11 crew's moon boots, and incorporates some "spacey" materials.
GE was one of a number of companies that worked with NASA on the design of the spacesuits worn by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on July 20th, 1969. More specifically, GE made the silicone rubber used in their boots, and the industrial-strength plastic used in their visors.
While Armstrong and company probably wouldn't have done well using The Missions on their moon walks, the shoes aren't entirely your average kicks, either. Besides simply looking pretty astronaut-ish, they incorporate stabilized carbon fiber side panels and 3M's highly-reflective Scotchlite material. The press release also makes mention of a water-repellant coating and thermoplastic rubber, although both of those are now pretty commonly used in shoes.
Only 100 pairs will be available, priced at US$196.90 (as in 1969) a pair. They will be sold exclusively through the JackThreads website, starting on Sunday, July 20th.
Source: JackThreads via Popular Science
