The Apollo Landing Keyboard rolled into the world’s coolest calculator clock

You’ve probably heard that your smartphone has more computing power than the computers that sent the Apollo mission to the moon. Well, a full 55 years after the space flight that landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface, a company managed to shrink the Apollo computer in another way. British startup Apollo Instruments created a wristwatch that he copied Apollo guidance computer.

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

The original AGCs were used by astronauts for guidance and navigation, which you can’t do with a watch – and no offense, but you probably don’t have a spaceship anyway. But it functions in its own way. The watch has a built-in GPS, a digital display and a working keyboard. It’s also programmable, built on an open source framework that’s compatible with a number of coding environments, including Arduino and Python. So if you have some features you want to run, they are open for input.

The clock also has an 8-channel digital I/O port, which opens up the possibility of using the clock to control or interact with “breadboard interfaces, development enclosures, and robotics,” according to Apollo Instruments’ product description. The company said it will release software updates in the future and work with community input, so if someone else comes up with a cool feature, you should be able to install it on your own device.

After all, the DSKY Moonwatch is a novelty. And at £649 (about $812), it’s not exactly cheap. But at least it brings a fun interface and the potential to extend functionality in unique ways. Of course, it won’t bring you all the features of your standard smartwatch, and it won’t attract attention for the same reasons as an expensive watch. But at the very least, it’s probably the only great watch with a calculator and a decent conversation starter. So that’s something.

DSKY Moonwatch can be pre-ordered from Apollo Instruments with a deposit of £240 ($300). The company says it expects to begin shipping the finished product in the first quarter of 2025. And just for your safety, get to know potential risks of contributing to crowdfunding campaigns before jumping.