MARS 500 mission part one successfully completedDo watches by Fortis fly to Mars?
Exactly forty years ago, millions of people worldwide have followed the moon landing. The race between the superpowers brought the first human beings to the Moon in 1969. Today specialists from different nations work toward the goal of flying to MARS.
When in 2030 the crew members of the first mission to the red planet will climb into their spaceship the stage was set by the ambitious research projects of today. To commemorate this first European - Russian MARS mission aiming at the simulation of a real flight to the red planet this limited watch edition MARS 500 was issued.
Inside the titanium watch case adorned with the official mission logo a precise Swiss automatic movement is working. The latest in Swiss crown technology guarantees a water resistance of 200 meters and the time setting crown is coated with rubber. The adapted caoutchouc strap with a titanium folding clasp carries the FORTIS trademark and every watch is individually numbered. Attached comes the FORTIS Limited Edition patch bearing the official MARS 500 logo.
As the official watch of the Russian Cosmonauts Program, the mechanical FORTIS timepieces have just accomplished a very special mission: MARS 500, the first joint experiment of ESA, DLR and FSA aiming at the simulation of a real flight to Mars at Moscow’s Institute for Biomedical Problems, which will be continued starting in spring 2010 with a 520-day mission. FORTIS was founded in 1912 and is one of the oldest-established independent watch manufacturers in Switzerland. Already in 1924, the brand went down in history with the world's first automatic wristwatch in serial production. Pilots all over the world opt for the functional timepieces with the FORTIS crown and in July 2009, the manufacturer from Grenchen was voted second in the category "Aviation Watches”. When the ISS (international space station) can be seen orbiting in the clear night sky, the automatic FORTIS watches accompany the astronauts because since the 1990’s, the FORTIS timepieces are part of the official equipment on space missions.