The Gemini Giant is a 28-foot fiberglass astronaut Muffler Man, complete with helmet and rocket, that stood outside The Launching Pad Diner in Wilmington, Illinois from the early 1960s as a roadside ad for Route 66 travellers. When the diner shuttered in 2022 the statue was at risk of being scrapped; the Joliet Area Historical Society rescued it, restored it to original condition, and re-erected it at South Island Park in November 2024. The Mother Road’s space-age era preserved as it should be — outdoors and free to visit.