Exterior pouch: plastic covered textile, aluminum hooks, velcro, and polyester
Dimensions:
3-D: 34.3 x 22.9 x 11.4cm (13 1/2 x 9 x 4 1/2 in.)
Type:
EQUIPMENT-Survival
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Summary:
In the event of a landing outside the primary landing area, Mercury astronauts carried a variety of survival equipment aboard their spacecraft. These included food, water, knives, rope, matches, medical supplies, a radio transceiver, a compass, a rescue beacon, a radar reflector, a life vest, and a life raft similar to this one. This self-inflating life raft was part of the survival kit in Freedom 7, the first Mercury mission, in which Alan Shepard became the first American in space.
NASA transferred Freedom 7 to the Smithsonian in 1962. This object was found inside the spacecraft in 1977.
Credit Line:
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration