I connected a 5V source to it with a 10kΩ resistor in series, but it does nothing.

Unfortunately I couldn't get a useful photo even with a microscope. Looking into the front glass, over the top of the plate with the markings, I can see coil windings that look like the sort of thing you'd typically see in an ammeter. The dial moves freely and smoothly if the unit is bumped. It seems likely to me that this is a microammeter part that was repurposed as a temperature dial for the space program.

The part number at the top appears to be ЭА0624, a search for which returns similar-looking DC ammeters from the Soviet era. The text at the bottom translates to 'Made in USSR'. Taking the metal shroud off reveals the following labelling:Īn automated translation suggests that 750uA is the 'Inom', which I presume means nominal current. Unfortunately I couldn't afford any of the intact space suits up for auction (I can only dream), but I did manage to get hold of a temperature gauge that has actually been to space, and that's cool enough for me. A clear-out of the site began a few years ago, with the parts and equipment being sold off to private collectors and resellers. That hanger unfortunately collapsed due to structural failure in 2002, destroying the spacecraft. After the Soviet Buran (БУРАН) program was suspended in the late 1980s, the Buran space shuttle was housed in a hangar at Baikonur.

Buran shuttle in hangar