In addition to the many obvious perks of being an astronaut in the early days of NASA — fame, glory, hero status and, of course, going to space — there was the lesser known benefit of having your butt immortalized.

These molded astronaut couches are the same kind that were made for the Mercury capsules. The NASA employees whose names grace these seats didn't get to go to space, but certainly a couch molded precisely to their behinds had to be the next best thing.

This photo was taken at NASA's Langley Research Centers in 1959.

Image: NASA