Gene Cernan’s A7L spacesuit lunar boot manufactured by the International Latex Corporation. This complete boot for the right foot measures 14″ long, 6″ wide, and 8″ tall. Boot features a Beta cloth-covered upper shell and liner, with a light blue silicone rubber sole with half-inch wide horizontal treads. This early training design has a Beta cloth tag sewn inside the upper portion of the tongue which reads, “E. Cernan.” An ILC tag is sewn onto the rear donning loop and reads, “Part No. A7L-106015-05/Size OLGE/Serial No. 007/Code: 74897/ILC Industries Inc.” In fine condition, with some expected scattered light wear and soiling.
The boot is constructed in three stages utilizing insulation, a liner, and a protective outer shell. The liner is Teflon-coated Beta cloth with the insulation made from 12 layers of aluminized Kapton film separated by 12 layers of Beta Marquisette. The sole is made from two additional layers of Beta felt interlaced between the uppermost film and the spacer layers. The outer shell is comprised of a silicone rubber soul sewn to a laminated structure made up of four layers of two-ply Beta Marquisette. As stated, this is an early version of the boot; the final moon-worn boots were made with a metal-woven fabric (Chrome R) on the upper portion and back of the boot.
Designed to fit over the astronaut’s thermal meteoroid and spacesuit boots during EVAs on the lunar surface, these boots provided additional thermal and abrasion protection from the lunar environment, and better traction on the surface. Cernan’s moon-worn boots, along with the rest of his space suit are housed in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Sporting the very familiar tread seen in countless photos of footprints left on the lunar surface, such recognizable and identified astronaut-used items are very scarce and seldom offered to the public.
