The American Optical Original Pilot: the First Sunglasses on the Moon

When Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon and declared, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” it was also a giant leap for American Optical. American Optical sunglasses had been the choice of pilots long before the space race, and they proved their quality all the way into space.

NASA began including AO’s FG-58 sunglasses—now better known as the Original Pilot—in astronauts’ survival kits starting with the Gemini IV mission. These survival kits were designed to protect astronauts in case they landed in difficult terrain upon returning to Earth.

American Optical’s reputation for producing military-grade equipment and high-end optical gear made it a natural choice as a supplier—and in the end, these sunglasses would travel nearly half a million kilometers.

Photo : Charles Conrad & Gordon Cooper, NASA Astronauts

The entire Apollo 11 crew received these kits, with their sunglasses safely stored in a case specially designed for space travel. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon, the AO FG-58 became the first pair of sunglasses on the lunar surface. One of these historic pairs is now on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Still available today, the Original Pilot remains unchanged and timeless… since 1958!