NASA Astronaut Candidate Wears An Omega Speedmaster

For Astronauts, Watches Are Tools & A Key Aspect Of Culture 

In 2024, more than 8,000 individuals representing a diverse array of backgrounds and fields of expertise applied to be part of NASA’s 2025 astronaut class. On 22 September, NASA unveiled its 2025 astronaut class of ten candidates, cherry-picked from the massive applicant pool. Starting immediately, the agency’s 24th astronaut class will undergo two years of basic training with a further two to three years of mission-specific instruction once assigned to space flights. 

US Air Force Maj. Adam Fuhrmann is among NASA’s ten new astronaut candidates.

As is often the case, the cohort comprises a mix of leading scientists, engineers, medical doctors, and military aviators. When NASA’s press blast highlighting the new crop of candidates went out, we quickly noticed something we liked about Air Force Major Adam Fuhrmann, a test pilot from Virginia. Prominently displayed in his press photo, Fuhrmann wears an Omega Speedmaster. He's one of us.

Fuhrmann is not the first astronaut with a vested interest in mechanical watches. Since his selection back in 2017, we have been closely following Jonny Kim, the former Navy SEAL and Harvard-trained medical doctor who blasted off to the International Space Station in April with an impressive rotation of at least four mechanical watches, including a Rolex Daytona, GMT-Master II, and Submariner, in addition to an Omega Seamaster Unit Watch. Where Kim’s collection honors his experience in the SEAL Teams and penchant for Rolex, Fuhrmann’s Speedmaster once again shows the indelible link between one of Omega’s most celebrated model families and NASA. 

Earlier this week we discussed Omega’s links to NASA and the space program, but suffice it to say that for an astronaut, any watch from the Speedmaster family makes perfect sense. With a return to the Moon on the horizon through NASA’s Artemis program, which this new crop of astronauts will no doubt complement, we also wonder whether Fuhrmann’s wearing of a Speedy in his NASA press photo was making a bit of a statement. Not the average Moonwatch, Fuhrmann’s reference is the seldom-seen 3576.50, which offers a moon phase complication at twelve o’clock in addition to the Speedy’s traditional chronograph functions. 

Fuhrmann’s Speedmaster is the seldom-seen moon phase reference 3576.50.

For diehard Omega fanboys, the Moonwatch will always be the standard Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional, complete with a Hesalite (acrylic) crystal. The modern version, powered by the 3861 movement, is a direct descendant of the first Speedmaster models officially approved for use by NASA in 1965. Until we manage a sitdown with Fuhrmann, we won’t know for sure how the future astronaut selected a moon phase Speedmaster as opposed to the OG, and it could be as simple as a matter of personal preference. 

As NASA’s newest class prepares to train for missions that could carry them to the Moon and beyond, it’s fitting that one of the candidates is already wearing a watch with such deep ties to space exploration. Whether Major Fuhrmann’s choice of a moon phase Speedy was deliberate symbolism or simply evidence of his personal taste and appreciate for timepieces, flexing the watch in his press photo serves as a reminder that what is true for the military, intelligence, and special operations is also true for astronauts: watches carry stories of heritage, precision, and endurance. 

Fuhrmann wearing his Speedmaster Moonphase. (Photo Credit: NASA)

In the years ahead, as this class writes the next chapter of human spaceflight, W.O.E. will be watching closely, not just the missions themselves, but also the timepieces selected by the astronauts as they venture into space. 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE.

Read Next: Watches in Space Exploration & Space Security