— A new, collectible pen is celebrating the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's ruby anniversary with a silvery shine.

Retro 51's Mercury 7 Astronaut rollerball replicates the iconic look of the silver spacesuits worn by America's original astronauts. The limited edition Tornado-model pen celebrates the 40 years since the Mercury astronauts came together to support U.S. college students excelling in science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) degrees.

"When it comes down to it, the Mercury Seven Foundation may be our greatest legacy," said the late Wally Schirra, who in 1984 reunited with Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Deke Slayton and the widow of Gus Grissom to do what they could to bolster United States leadership in technology and innovation. In the four decades since they established the organization, $8.3 million have been awarded to more than 750 students from 48 universities.

In 1995, the Mercury Seven Foundation was renamed the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF).

"In celebration of ASF's 40th anniversary, we share this limited-edition Tornado designed after the futuristic spacesuits that captured the public's attention," read Retro 51's announcement of the new pen, which went on sale Tuesday (April 23) at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT). "Details from the suit have been replicated onto the pen barrel with acid-etching and printing complete with white accents mimicking the astronaut's helmet and boots."

The Mercury pressure garment, which was made by the B.F. Goodrich Company, was not silver, but had an aluminum-coated nylon outer layer for thermal control. The shiny suits became iconic before any of the Mercury 7 astronauts wore them into space, thanks to a 1960 LIFE Magazine photoshoot that marked the only time all seven pilots suited up at the same time.

The $68 pen is a limited edition of 1,958, in commemoration of the year NASA was founded. At the top of each pen is the ASF's 40th anniversary logo.

The pen ships in a commemorative silver tube.

"The illustration of the Mercury 7 on the packaging tube is reminiscent of the iconic photo of the astronauts in their suits and is printed against a metallic silver to complete the beauty of this special writing instrument," Retro 51's description of the pen reads. "Continue to reach for the stars with the Mercury 7 Astronaut pen and honor the brave men and women who made such achievements possible."

The pens are now available for order, while supplies last, from Retro 51 and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, as well as from Retro 51's network of retailers.

The Mercury 7 Astronaut is the latest space-themed writing instrument to be offered by Retro 51. Past releases have included pens that resemble the Mercury-Redstone, Gemini-Titan and Apollo-Saturn V rockets, a Hubble Space Telescope pen, a Space Shuttle Discovery Tornado in partnership with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and both space shuttle Enterprise and Columbia pens with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

This is the second Retro 51 pen to resemble an astronaut's spacesuit after a 2020 release modeled after NASA's ACES (Advanced Crew Escape Suit), the "pumpkin suit" that was worn by space shuttle crew members.