NASA's pioneering astronauts: Where are they now?

Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, was one of 300 astronauts. What became of some of the more famous ones?

|
NASA/Reuters
Astronauts David R. Scott (l.), Pilot; and, Neil A. Armstrong, Command Pilot, pose with model of the Gemini Spacecraft after being selected at the crew for the Gemini VIII mission. Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, died August 24, at age 82.

As space exploration has become more common and the number of astronauts has risen past 300, many names have faded into the background. But some will forever be associated with the golden age of space exploration. Some examples:

From 1969's Apollo 11, the first manned moon landing mission:

Buzz Aldrin: Lunar module pilot for Apollo 11. Second man on the moon after commander Neil Armstrong. Left NASA in in 1971 and returned to Air Force. Wrote several books including "Return to Earth" and "Men from Earth." Advocate for future U.S. space exploration and frequent lecturer. Age: 82.

— Neil Armstrong: Commander of Apollo 11 mission and first human to set foot on the moon. Left NASA in 1971, taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati, and later became chairman of electronic systems companies. Died Aug. 25 at age 82.

Michael Collins: Command module pilot on Apollo 11 and circled the moon while colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed. Left NASA in 1970 and became first director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Wrote "Carrying the Fire," considered one of the best insider space books. Age: 81.

Some other notable astronauts:

Scott Carpenter: Second American to orbit the Earth in 1962. With John Glenn, surviving member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts. Gave the famous send off — "Godspeed, John Glenn." Involved in Navy's SeaLab program, and spent 30 days under the ocean in 1965. Left the Navy in 1969. Age: 87.

Eugene Cernan: Commander of Apollo 17 in 1972; last astronaut to walk on the moon. Second person to walk in space in 1966 as a pilot on Gemini 9.

Retired from the Navy in 1976 and later started an aerospace consulting company in Houston. Age: 78

— John Glenn: First American to orbit the Earth in 1962, circling three times in five hours. Left NASA in 1965 and retired from the Marine Corps the next year.

Became a Democratic U.S. senator from Ohio and ran briefly for president in 1984. Return to space in 1998 for a nine-day mission aboard space shuttle Discovery, becoming at age 77 the oldest person in space. Turned 91 in July.

— Jim Lovell: Commander of Apollo 13 in 1970, his fourth space flight. Oxygen tank in the spaceship exploded and the moon mission was aborted. Left NASA in 1973 and became a business executive. Age: 84.

Edgar Mitchell: The sixth man to walk on the moon in 1971 after maneuvering the landing module from Apollo 14. Made two excursions to collect lunar samples with Alan Shepard. Left NASA in 1972 and went on to become an educator, lecturer and consultant. Age: 81.

— Alan Shepard: First American in space; made a 15-minute suborbital flight in 1961. Returned to space as commander of Apollo 14 in 1971; used a lunar sample scoop with an attached golf-club head to hit a ball on the moon. Retired from NASA in 1974 and went into private business in Houston. Died in 1998 at age 74.

— Jack Swigert Jr.: Pilot for Apollo 13 in 1970, a last-minute replacement after another astronaut came down with the measles. Mission to moon was aborted after an oxygen tank on the spaceship exploded. Left NASA in 1977. Elected to Congress in November 1982; died of bone cancer the next month at age 51.

John Young: First person to fly into space from Earth six times — seven times counting his lunar liftoff in 1972. Flew two Gemini and two Apollo missions. Commander of the first space shuttle flight, aboard Columbia in 1981. Final space flight in 1983 aboard Columbia. Retired from NASA in 2004. Age: 81.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to NASA's pioneering astronauts: Where are they now?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0826/NASA-s-pioneering-astronauts-Where-are-they-now
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe