Fisher Space Pen Apollo 11 Astronaut Ballpoint Pen (Special Edition)

"We meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds." - President John F. Kennedy

When John F. Kennedy challenged America to land a man on the moon and return him safely back to earth by the end of the decade, he kick-started what would be one of the most inspiring and difficult undertakings mankind has ever attempted. Space was a new frontier, filled with hazards and challenges yet unknown. This bold and daring pursuit has inspired millions, and continues to inspire tomorrow's scientists, engineers, and astronauts. Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon truly were a great leap for mankind, as they represented our escape from the confines of the earth in spite of the huge hurdles to space exploration 

These hurdles ranged from the grand questions of propulsion and life support to the more pedestrian considerations of how astronauts would eat or write in space. Finding a writing implement suitable for use in the testing environment of space turned out to be surprisingly difficult. The ballpoint pens available at the time required gravity to maintain consistent inkflow, and had issues with excessive outgassing of ink vapors into the small confined space of a command module. Pencils generated broken tips and fine graphite particulate that would float around in microgravity and present a hazard to both the crew and the sensitive electronics keeping them alive.

The need for a suitable pen was met by Paul Fisher of the Fisher Pen Company. Through a common sense design process, he developed the original Fisher Space Pen: the Anti-Gravity 7 (AG7). Capable of writing perfectly in all manner of challenging conditions encountered in space and on earth, the AG7 was designed expressly with the needs of the Apollo astronauts in mind.

Fisher pitched the AG7 to NASA, and after 18 months of rigorous testing, it went up with the Apollo program’s first manned spaceflight, Apollo 7, on October 11th, 1968. The same AG7 design has been carried by NASA’s manned spaceflights ever since, most notably the Apollo 11 mission that carried Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon.

This Special Edition Fisher Space Pen AG7 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that brought man to the lunar surface and back for the first time. The pen itself is the same AG7 design used by the crew of Apollo 11, but also features unique engravings celebrating the first moon landing. These include the Apollo Command and Service module that carried the crew across the vast translunar gulf, “Man’s First Moon Landing” with the date, “Jul. 20 1969”, and an “Apollo 11” incorporating the button used to retract the pen’s tip as the second “O” in “Apollo”, along with other small astronomical motifs.

As a genuine Fisher Space Pen of the same variety as those used on the Apollo missions, this pen stands out among those commemorating the first moon landing. While other moon landing themed special editions exist as monuments to the achievements of the Apollo program, the AG7 is part of the story of the moon landings, and was present for the landing itself as much as Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin. Not only is this pen a beautiful tribute to mankind's giant leap and the power of bravery and ingenuity to make possible things once confined to the realm of science fiction, but it's also an opportunity to own a piece of history.