Other than the service academies, no university in the country has produced more astronauts (25) than Purdue. This weekend, the football program will celebrate that outer-space heritage on the gridiron.
Monday, Purdue revealed moon-themed uniforms that the football team will wear during Saturday’s homecoming game versus Maryland. “In honor of the 50th anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar mission and Purdue’s accreditation as the Cradle of Astronauts, the Boilermaker football team unveiled a custom moon-inspired helmet and astronaut-themed patch,” the school wrote.
The Boilermakers will wear all-white uniforms to mirror an astronaut’s spacesuit. Where the real magic happens, though, is on the helmet.Paying homage to Purdue’s impressive astronaut alumni, the helmet is designed to resemble an astronaut’s helmet. It features a chrome gold mask on a white helmet to represent the gold tint of a space suit’s visor. It also features a grey and white moon pattern as a nod to Purdue’s two alumni on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan.
Also highlighting the helmet is a center stripe with Armstrong’s first footprints on the moon.