Which Apollo Astronaut Are You?

GEMINI 8 - APOLLO 11

Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut, aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.

Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was an officer in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean War. While making a low bombing run at about 350 mph over Korea, Armstrong's F9F Panther was hit by anti-aircraft fire. While trying to regain control, his jet struck a pole at a height of about 20 feet which tore off about three feet of the Panther's starboard wing. Armstrong managed to bring the plane back over friendly territory, and ejected. Armstrong flew 78 missions over Korea for a total of 121 hours in the air, and received the Air Medal, Gold Star, the Korean Service Medal and and the Engagement Star.

After the war, Armstrong served as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) High-Speed Flight Station. Armstrong's first flight in a rocket plane was on August 15, 1957, in the Bell X-1B, to an altitude of 11.4 miles. He later flew the North American X-15 seven times He reached a top altitude of 207,500 feet while flying the X-15-3, and a top speed of Mach 5.74 (3,989 mph) in the X-15-1; he left the Dryden Flight Research Center with a total of 2,400 flying hours, after flying more than 200 different models of aircraft.

At 20:17:40 UTC on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong touched down on the surface of the moon, accompanied by Buzz Aldrin, and at 2:56 UTC July 21, 1969, spoke the famous words "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” and became the first man to walk on the moon.

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GEMINI 12 - APOLLO 11

Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin Jr was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history. He set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 (UTC) on July 21, 1969, following mission commander Neil Armstrong.

Aldrin graduated third in his class at West Point in 1951, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres and shot down two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 aircraft.

After Apollo 11 touched down on the Sea of Tranquility, Aldrin's first words were "Beautiful view." Then, in response to Armstrong asking, "Isn't it magnificent?", he responded, "Magnificent desolation."

Buzz may have not been to first to set foot on our moon, but, he does hold the unique distinction of being the first person to pee on the moon....

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Mercury-Redstone 4, GEMINI 3 -APOLLO 1

Virgil Ivan Grissom ((Lt Col, USAF), better known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts, test pilot, mechanical engineer, and a United States Air Force pilot. He was the second American to fly in space, and the first member of the NASA Astronaut Corps to fly in space twice..

During the Korean War, Grissom flew as an F-86 Sabre replacement pilot and was assigned to the 334th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing stationed at Kimpo Air Base with a total of 100 combat missions.

After the war, Grissom served as a flight instructor, at Bryan AFB in Bryan, Texas. During a training exercise with a cadet, a trainee pilot caused a flap to break off the aircraft, causing it to spin out of control. Grissom managed to climb mid spin from the rear seat of the small craft to take over the controls and safely land the jet

On July 21, 1961, Grissom became the pilot of the second Project Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 4, which he named Liberty Bell 7. Later designated command pilot for Gemini 3, the first manned Project Gemini flight, Grissom flew on March 23, 1965., making him the first NASA astronaut to fly into space twice.

Grissom was killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission. Gus Grissom was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and, posthumously, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Had this accident not occurred, there is a high probability that he would have been assigned command of Apollo 11, and the first man to walk on the moon.

Inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1981.
Enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1987.
Inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on May 11, 1990.
Enshrined at the "Wall of Honor" at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport


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GEMINI 5 - GEMINI 11 - APOLLO 12 - SKYLAB 2

Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. (June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999), (Capt, USN), was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and during the Apollo 12 mission became the third man to walk on the Moon. He set an eight-day space endurance record along with his Command Pilot Gordon Cooper on the Gemini 5 mission, and commanded the Gemini 11 mission. After Apollo, he commanded the Skylab 2 mission (the first manned one), on which he and his crewmates repaired significant launch damage to the Skylab space station. For this, President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978.

Conrad was invited to take part in the selection process for the first group of astronauts for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (the "Mercury Seven"). Conrad, like his fellow candidates, underwent several days of what they considered to be invasive, demeaning, and unnecessary medical and psychological testing at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in New Mexico. Unlike his fellow candidates, Conrad rebelled against the regimen. During a Rorschach inkblot test, he told the psychiatrist that one blot card revealed a sexual encounter complete with lurid detail. When shown a blank card, he turned it around, pushed it back and replied "It's upside down".

Then when Pete was asked to deliver a stool sample to the onsite lab, after undergoing a long series of medical tests, he decided that he had had enough, and placed the requested sample it in a gift box and tied a red ribbon around it. After dropping his full enema bag on the desk of the clinic’s commanding officer, he walked out.

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APOLLO 16 - STS-4 - STS-51-C

Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II (born March 17, 1936), (RADM, USN, Ret.), better known as Ken Mattingly, is a former American naval officer and aviator, flag officer, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and astronaut.

He had been scheduled to fly on Apollo 13, but was dropped from the mission due to concerns about a potential measles infection (which he did not contract). When the crew of Apollo 13 suffered an in-flight explosion that crippled their spacecraft, Mattingly was instrumental in helping the crew solve a myriad of problems in their attempt to return to Earth.

He later flew as Command Module Pilot for Apollo 16, making him one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon.

Mattingly also commanded STS-4, the fourth and final orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 27, 1982, and completed 112 orbits of the Earth before touching down at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on July 4, 1982.

On January 24, 1985, Ken Mattingly launched on his last space flight aboard STS-51-C, the first Space Shuttle Department of Defense mission.

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Alan Bartlett "Al" Shepard, Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998), (RADM, USN), was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, flag officer, one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts, and businessman, who in 1961 became the second person and the first American to travel into space. in the Mercury Program.

Ten years later, at age 47 and the oldest astronaut in the program, Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the lander to the most accurate landing of the Apollo missions. He became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, and the only astronaut of the Mercury Seven to walk on the Moon.

During his EVA on the lunar surface, being an avid golfer, Shepard brought a specially modified Wilson six-iron head that attached to the lunar sample scoop handle. Despite thick gloves and a stiff spacesuit, which forced him to swing the club with one hand, Shepard struck two golf balls on the lunar surface; driving the second, as he jokingly put it, "miles and miles and miles",

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GEMINI 7 - GEMINI 12 -APOLLO 8 - APOLLO 13

James Arthur "Jim" Lovell, Jr. (born March 25, 1928) is a former NASA astronaut and a retired captain in the United States Navy, most famous as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission control. The sucessful return of Apollo 13 is considered by many to be NASA's finest moment! Lovell was also the command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first Apollo mission to enter lunar orbit. Lovell is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, the first of only three people to fly to the Moon twice, and the only one to have flown there twice without making a landing. Lovell was also the first person to fly in space four times.

At the end of his career, Lovell accrued over 715 hours, and had seen a total of 269 sunrises from space on his Gemini and Apollo flights.

GEMINI 3 - GEMINI 10 - APOLLO 10 - APOLLO 16 -STS-1 - STS-9

Captain John Watts Young (born September 24, 1930) is a retired American astronaut, naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer, who became the ninth person to walk on the Moon as Commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972.

After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1952, Young entered the United States Navy. He served as fire control officer on the destroyer USS Laws until June 1953 and completed a tour in the Sea of Japan during the Korean War. He was sent to flight training and was assigned to Fighter Squadron 103 (VF-103) for four years, flying F-9 Cougars from the USS Coral Sea and F-8 Crusaders from USS Forrestal.

After training at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1959, Young was assigned to the Naval Air Test Center at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland for three years. His test projects included evaluations of the XF8U-3 Crusader III and F-4 Phantom II fighter weapons systems. In 1962, he set world time-to-climb records to 3,000-meter and 25,000-meter altitudes in the Phantom, and was maintenance officer of Fighter Squadron 143 (VF-143).

After joining NASA, Young crewed the first manned flight of the Gemini spacecraft with Gus Grissom in 1965, and achieved another space "first" by smuggling a corned beef sandwich onto the spacecraft—a feat for which he was strongly reprimanded.

Even though his career was put into question with the "sandwich incident", Young was eventually selected to command Gemini 10 in 1966 and performed an orbital rendezvous with two Agena target vehicles; with his pilot, Michael Collins.

In 1969, Young flew to the Moon on Apollo 10. While Stafford and Cernan flew the Lunar Module in lunar orbit for the first time, Young flew the Command Module solo. Apollo 10 set the record for the highest speed attained by any manned vehicle at 24,791 mph during its return to Earth on May 26, 1969.

Young later became commander of Apollo 16. On the surface, Young took three moonwalks in the Descartes Highlands with Charles Duke on April 21, 22 and 23, 1972, making Young the ninth person to walk on the surface of the Moon, and also set a lunar speed record with the Lunar Rover vehicle.

In 1981, John Young took Command of the first flight of the Space Shuttle - STS-1, and later STS-9 in 1983.

Capt. Young logged more than 15,275 hours flying time in props, jets, helicopters, rocket jets, more than 9,200 hours in T-38s, and spacecraft, including 835 hours in six space flights.

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