The crew of Artemis II is back on Earth following a successful 10-day journey around the Moon—bringing with them not only critical data for future missions, but also the return of a familiar piece of spaceflight equipment. Strapped to the astronauts on this mission was the OMEGA Speedmaster X-33.

Tested and refined

Developed with direct input from astronauts and tested in real flight conditions—including NASA missions and International Space Station deployments—the X-33 represents a shift from a heritage chronograph to a high-performance tool watch. Its lightweight titanium case and bracelet (or Kevlar strap) are designed for durability, shock resistance, and wearer comfort in extreme environments.

Recent refinements—such as enlarged pushers, a redesigned crown for gloved operation, and a glare-reducing bezel—underscore its functional evolution. With rigorous pre-shipment testing for accuracy, temperature, and pressure resistance, the X-33 reinforces OMEGA’s positioning at the intersection of horology and space-grade instrumentation.

Designed for space

Legibility is central. Its high-contrast analogue-digital display combines luminous hands and markers with a large liquid crystal display (LCD) readout for mission-critical timing. Functions are tailored to professional use, including the following:

• Mission Elapsed Time: A long-term chronograph records days, hours, minutes, and seconds, serving as the main reference for all mission activities.
• Mission Alarm: An alarm set to sound during the mission. This could be for experiments and so on.
• Universal Time: Set at GMT, it avoids confusion between time zones and can be set to a second zone.
• Universal Time Alarm: The X-33’s double titanium case back ensures the alarm reaches at least 80 decibels, making it audible inside the Space Shuttle.

Other features include a countdown timer and a 1/100^th-second chronograph.

According to Gear Patrol, OMEGA wasn’t the only watch to be worn in space, with Breitling’s Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute Artemis II also making its mark aboard the spacecraft. Led by Reid Wiseman, the mission included pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The crew travelled aboard the Orion spacecraft on a 695,081-mile round trip, marking the first time humans have ventured around the Moon since Apollo 17. For OMEGA, it continues to solidify its historic legacy in crewed exploration—one that began in 1969.