NASA Astronaut Group 2

Group members

Neil A. Armstrong (1930–2012), civilian (retired U.S. Navy) (2 flights)

Gemini 8 — March 1966 — Command Pilot — First docking (Gemini ATV) in space, first mission aborted from Earth orbit Apollo 11 — July 1969 — Commander — First manned lunar landing; first person to walk on the Moon

Frank F. Borman, II (born 1928), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)

Gemini 7 — December 1965 — Command Pilot — First two-week manned space mission; first rendezvous in space, with Gemini 6A Apollo 8 — December 1968 — Commander — First manned circumlunar mission

Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr (1930–1999), U.S. Navy (4 flights)

Gemini 5 — August 1965 — Pilot — First eight-day space mission, first use of fuel cells Gemini 11 — September 1966 — Command Pilot — First direct-ascent rendezvous; set highest apogee Earth orbit; first artificial gravity experiment Apollo 12 — November 1969 — Commander — Second manned lunar landing; third man to walk on the Moon Skylab 2 — May–June 1973 — Commander — First American space station mission Conrad was a candidate for the Mercury Seven, but disqualified himself when he refused to complete what he considered to be invasive medical tests.

James A. Lovell, Jr (born 1928), U.S. Navy (4 flights)

Gemini 7 — December 1965 — Pilot — First two-week space mission, first rendezvous in space, with Gemini 6A Gemini 12 — November 1966 — Command Pilot — Final Gemini mission Apollo 8 — December 1968 — Command Module Pilot — First manned circumlunar mission Apollo 13 — April 1970 — Commander — Third manned lunar landing attempt, first mission abort beyond Earth orbit; highest human altitude record. Lovell became the first person to travel to the Moon twice. Like Conrad, he had been a candidate for the Mercury Seven, but was not selected due to a high bilirubin blood count.

James A. McDivitt (born 1929), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)

Gemini 4 — June 1965 — Command Pilot Apollo 9 — March 1969 — Commander — First manned flight of Lunar Module

Elliot M. See, Jr (1927–1966), U.S. Navy

See was chosen as Command Pilot of Gemini 9, but died in a T-38 plane crash less than four months before launch.

Thomas P. Stafford (born 1930), U.S. Air Force (4 flights)

Gemini 6A — December 1965 — Pilot — First rendezvous in space, with Gemini 7 Gemini 9A — June 1966 — Command Pilot (See's backup) Apollo 10 — May 1969 — Commander — "Dress rehearsal" for Apollo 11, first lunar orbital flight of Lunar Module, highest speed attained by a manned vehicle (24,791 mph) Apollo-Soyuz Test Project — July 1975 — Commander — First joint American-Soviet space mission, first docking of an American and Russian spacecraft

Edward H. White, II (1930–1967), U.S. Air Force (1 flight)

Gemini 4 — June 1965 — Pilot — First American EVA Apollo 1 — January 1967 — Senior Pilot — Killed in fire during a launch pad test one month before launch

John W. Young (born 1930), U.S. Navy (6 flights)

Gemini 3 — March 1965 — Pilot — First manned Gemini mission; first manned mission to change orbital plane Gemini 10 — July 1966 — Command Pilot — First double rendezvous Apollo 10 — May 1969 — Command Module Pilot — "Dress rehearsal" for Apollo 11, first lunar orbital flight of Lunar Module, highest speed attained by a manned vehicle (24,791 mph) Apollo 16 — April 1972 — Commander — Fifth manned lunar landing; Young became the ninth person to walk on the Moon STS-1 Columbia — April 1981 — Commander — First Space Shuttle mission, maiden flight of Columbia STS-9 Columbia — November 1983 — Commander — First Spacelab mission; Young became the first person to travel into space six times