Designed for astronauts, this machete from Case Knives celebrates more than 50 years of its debut on the moon!

Personally, I couldn’t be in charge of making the carry-on list for astronauts traveling to the moon. Cookies would be item number one, followed by my apartment keys, and then maybe some multi-vitamins. Even my own carry-on lists for weekend trips are pretty questionable. Making a list for space travel, I’d be too distracted with how many pairs of socks the astronauts might need and totally forget the necessities, like toenail clippers or better yet, knives. Since the 1960s, back when the Gemini and Apollo missions were the subjects of every worthwhile conversation, the team at NASA put its trust in W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company, known today as Case Knives, to design the knives that astronauts would bring with them to the moon for half a century to come.

Today, Case Knives relaunches their registered trademark Case Astronaut Knife M-1 in commemoration of more than 50 years worth of space travel. The Case Astronaut Knife M-1 dons an optic white, glossy handle constructed from a space-tested combination of synthetic fibers, offering a smooth finish and an ergonomic grip for accurate and controlled use. The As-Ground machete blade comes with a bite, ground from stainless steel blocks, and a heavy gauge with a double row of sharp saw teeth along its spine. Machete blade’s modus operandi is in survival. Used for heavy-duty jobs like bushwhacking, coppicing, and butchering, machetes are no joke and proved necessary by NASA for use in such an unpredictable environment like outer space. As an entire knife, the Case Astronaut Knife M-1 weighs 7.5oz, measures at 16-inches, with its blade reaching a length of 11.75-inches.

The Gemini and Apollo missions to the moon back in the 60s required some new survival training for prospective space travelers and what better weapon to have at your side for survival on the moon than a machete? Picture your favorite heroes from jungle-adventure films slicing through the tangled brush with a machete the length of their torso. Shrinking that machete’s length down to fit into NASA’s survival kit was a job sufficiently handled by W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company and more than 50 years later, Case Knives celebrates a job well done.

Designer: Case Knives

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Constructed from stainless steel, the Case Astronaut Knife M-1 was designed in order to equip astronauts with an essential survival tool for trips to the moon.

An ergonomic handle gives the Case Astronaut Knife M-1 the punch it needs for astronauts to use it for precise and controlled jobs that require a knife.

The Case Astronaut Knife M-1 comes protected in a themed package reminiscent of its trip to the moon back in the 1960s when NASA first entrusted W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company to make the first knife specifically designed for space travel.

X Prize adopts NASA guidelines for protecting lunar heritage sites, Buzz Aldrin punch averted

X Prize adopts NASA guidelines for protecting lunar heritage sites

NASA hopes that one small step by Google's Lunar X Prize will eventually lead to a giant leap in protecting historical sites on the moon. The X Prize Foundation announced that it will adopt guidelines released by the space agency last year to help preserve lunar heritage sites. The move comes at a crucial time as a new space race increases the possibility of an imminent moon landing, according to NASA. Google's Lunar X Prize alone currently has 26 contestants worldwide vying to land a robot on the lunar surface by 2015. NASA stressed that their recommendations aren't law and "do not represent mandatory U.S. or international requirements." Examples include approach and landing guidelines to minimize disturbance, contamination and degradation of Apollo mission sites. That certainly sounds more reasonable than, say, plopping some dude in a spacesuit at a lunar outpost to shoot trespassers with a plasma shotgun while yelling, "Get off my property!" In the meantime, feel free to mosey on over to the PR after the break.

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