Laura Locke

Special for USA TODAY

Forty-five years after making the first footprints on the Moon, those famous moon boots worn by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are getting a makeover.

Called "The Missions," the re-invented moon boot, is actually a snazzy high-top sneaker designed for men and women with advanced lightweight materials and the latest in fashion and street design.

It's "a true modern take on the original," says Sam Olstein, General Electric's global director of innovation in New York. As a limited edition, commemorative item, it's meant to appeal to today's active youth, but also pay homage to that moment when humans first successfully landed and walked on the moon.

GE scientists developed the iconic moon boots the astronauts wore that historic day on July 20, 1969, one of the most watched, celebrated, and important moments in our collective pop culture.

Today, photos of the sneaker will debut on SnapChat, then disappear, as photos typically do on the site, after 24 hours. To see the sneakers from a variety of angles, follow @generalelectric on the social network for photos, videos and stories.

Then, on July 20, at 4:18 p.m. ET, to coincide with the exact time of the Apollo 11's lunar landing in 1969, the sneakers will go on sale. Take note, however, just 100 pairs of the limited edition sneaker will sell for $196.90 each.

Purchases can be made exclusively at JackThreads.com, an online retailer for men. There's one unisex style, but sizes will be listed online as men's sizes only, so women need to be mindful when ordering.

The Missions sneakers will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Completed orders will be shipped in late September, GE's Olstein says.

Fortunate buyers who manage to snag a pair of the limited-edition moon boot sneakers will surely have a collector's items on their hands. At this time, there are no plans to manufacture additional sneakers, but do expect to see the hip-looking high-tops being promoted on Twitter and in other media in the coming months, as part of a unique marketing effort by GE.

Not surprisingly, the new moon boot has a Galactic color scheme: off-whites, silver, earth tones, and semi-clear plastic on the soles. From photos, it appears there is some "moon dust" sprinkled inside small cavities on the shoe's base, which probably will move around as the sneaker is worn. All-in all, the high-top sneaker has a lightweight, yet urban functional and sturdy look that should appeal to hipsters, collectors, and sports enthusiasts alike.

The Missions sneakers, according to GE, were designed over the past couple of months, and make use of real-world, advanced industrial materials like Hydrophobic Coating, a water-resistant coating used on big GE machines like jet engines and wind turbines to prevent ice adhesion. The keen and contemporary consumer design sensibility came from Javier Laval of Android Homme, a luxury footwear company located in Los Angeles, and Daniel Bailey of ConceptKicks Lab, a footwear design, development, commercialization service, and Michael Vincent of JackThreads.com.

Stabilized Carbon Fiber is another material worked into the new moon boot. Lighter and stronger than metal, carbon fiber is also used in wind turbines, jet engines and in health care equipment.

3M Scotchlite Reflective Material is used in the new sneaker as a metallic coating, which is representative of the reflective coating found in many industrial operations today and helps big machines with durability and performance.

Also found in the new moon boot is Thermoplastic Rubber, which goes beyond common rubber by offering big machines improved flexibility, increased absorption, and better resistance.

GE, a key partner of NASA's Apollo Program, put 6,000 staffers and engineers on the job from 1961 to 1972. They're contributions included developing the silicon rubber in the astronauts's boots, which allowed for moonwalking under extreme temperatures and conditions. In addition to building Apollo's radio command and guidance tools, research scientists at GE also designed the astronauts' lunar visors made from Lexan, a transparent, industrial-strength plastic.

It remains to be seen who will buy these updated moon boots on Sunday. But, perhaps even more interestingly, where will they first land?