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 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

These bells are part of the harmonica and bell set 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 the two spacecraft to within six inches of each other, astronauts Schirra and Stafford played "Jingle Bells" with these instruments and pretended to see a UFO called Santa Claus.

Astronaut Tom Stafford gave the bells and his harmonica to the National Collection 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 Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford
Walter M. Schirra, Jr.
 Dimensions 3-D: 8 × 8.5 × 1cm (3 1/8 × 3 3/8 × 3/8 in.)
 Materials Steel
Nickel Plating
Nylon
Velcro
 Inventory Number A19670148001 Credit Line Donated by Thomas P. Stafford 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 An Aviation Christmas Card Carol December 21, 2017 Tom Stafford’s Jingle Bells and Wally Schirra’s Harmonica December 16, 2014