Apollo Landing’s keyboard boils down to the world’s coolest calculator watch

You’ve probably heard that your smartphone has more computing power than the computers that sent the Apollo mission to the Moon. Well, 55 years after the space flight that brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface, a company managed to reduce the size of the Apollo computer in another way. british startup Apollo Instruments created a wristwatch that replicates the Apollo Guidance Computer.

The Moonwatch DSKY (short for “Display and Keyboard”) shares the same interface as the briefcase-sized computers that were aboard the Apollo modules. The creators involved in the project took advantage of the original design specifications from the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory to shrink the panel and create a wearable replica.

The original AGCs were used by astronauts for orientation and navigation, something you can’t do with the watch; and no offense, but you probably don’t have a spaceship anyway. But it works in its own way. The watch has a built-in GPS, a digital display, and a working keyboard. It is also programmable and built on an open source framework that is compatible with various coding environments, including Arduino and Python. So if you have some features you’d like to run, you’re open to input.

The watch also has an 8-channel digital I/O port, opening up the possibility of using the watch to control or interface with “breadboard interfaces, development cabinets, and robotic devices,” according to Apollo’s product description Instruments. The company said it will release software updates in the future and work with contributions from the community, so if someone else comes up with a cool feature, they should be able to install it on their own device.

In short, the DSKY Moonwatch is a novelty. And at £649 (about $812), it’s not exactly cheap. But at least it offers a fun interface and the potential to expand functionality in unique ways. Sure, it won’t give you all the features of your standard smartwatch and it won’t turn heads for the same reasons as an expensive watch. But at the very least, it’s probably the only interesting calculator watch and a good conversation starter. So that’s something.

The DSKY Moonwatch can be pre-order from Apollo Instruments with a deposit of £240 ($300). The company says it hopes to start shipping the final product in the first quarter of 2025. And, just for your own safety, familiarize yourself with the Potential risks of contributing to crowdfunding campaigns. before jumping.