This Project Mercury helmet is on display in the Cosmosphere space museum in Hutchinson, Kansas. The men who wore these were idolized by the American public back in the early 1960s. I was one year old when Alan Shepard flew the first Mercury mission and nine years old when Apollo 11 made the first moon landing. It’s no wonder I’ve been a space fanatic all my life.

I’ll be posting a photo of an Apollo lunar EVA helmet next week for comparison.

One item missing from this recent artwork of my character, Bucky, is a helmet. The helmet pictured here is the one he would wear, although they are a little difficult to get over all that bear cheek floof.