The mission was the first US/Soviet space flight and intended as a symbolic end to the international 'space race' which had driven space exploration in the 1960s.
It would also turn out to be the last Apollo mission, and the last manned US space mission until 1981.
The mission's purpose was primarily symbolic, but also involved both joint and separate scientific experiments to prepare for future endeavours such as the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program and the International Space Station.
 Omega's highly-limited Speedmaster Professional wristwatch |
Now, 35 years later, luxury watchmaker Omega is giving collectors a chance to own their own very valuable and limited-edition memento of the momentous event in the form of its new Speedmaster Professional wristwatch.
Features on the watch include a chronograph measuring shorter time periods alongside the watch's main clock face - based on Omega's famous 1861 manual winding movement, as worn on the Moon - and a tachymeter used for measuring speed.
The watch's technology is held within a steel case, with scratch-resistant sapphire crystal anti-reflective treatment on both sides and a blackened meteorite dial.
According to Omega, the watch's production run is determined prior to them being made, and will be very limited indeed.
 The watch's reverse commemorates the landmark space mission |
However, a commemorative watch based on space flown technologies is one thing - but what about owning a watch that was actually flown to the Moon? Collectors had an opportunity to do just that at Heritage's Space Exploration Auction, last year.
A Rolex taken to the Moon aboard Apollo 17, property of astronaut Ron Evans, rocketed to an incredible $131,450 when it went under the hammer. The watch spent 72 hours on the Moon's surface back in 1972, three years prior to the landmark Apollo-Soyuz mission.
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