Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage conditions may apply

This harmonica is part of the harmonica and bell set was carried by astronauts Walter "Wally" Schirra and Tom Stafford aboard Gemini 6 in December of 1965. The mission was to test the docking and maneuvering capability of the Gemini spacecraft.

Approximately five hours after the successful maneuvering of the two spacecraft to within six inches of each other, astronauts Schirra and Stafford played "Jingle Bells" with these instruments and pretended to be a UFO called Santa Claus.

Ever the test pilot, Schirra reported that before he donated the instrument to the Smithsonian, he had "retested the harmonica and it performs quite well." He gave it to the Museum in 1967.

 Display Status

This object is on display in Destination Moon at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Destination Moon
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type PERSONAL EQUIPMENT-Personal Items Manufacturer Hohner
 Dimensions 3-D (Harmonica): 4 × 1.3 × 1cm (1 9/16 × 1/2 × 3/8 in.)
Other (String): 1.5 × 13cm (9/16 in. × 5 1/8 in.)
 Materials Steel
Wood
Nylon
Velcro
Nickel Plating
Varnish
Paint
 Inventory Number A19670148000 Credit Line Donated by Walter M. Schirra, Jr. Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use. You may also like Tom Stafford’s Jingle Bells and Wally Schirra’s Harmonica December 16, 2014