List of Apollo astronauts
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This is a list of all astronauts directly associated with NASA's Apollo program. There were 29 astronauts that flew in an Apollo spacecraft, 24 of whom left Earth's orbit and flew around the Moon (Apollo 7 and Apollo 9 didn't leave low Earth orbit).
12 of those astronauts landed on the Moon and walked on its surface, and six of those drove a Lunar rover on the Moon. While three astronauts had flown to the Moon twice, none of them landed on the Moon more than once. All were white male citizens of the United States of America. The nine Apollo missions to the moon all occurred between December 1968 and December 1972.
Apart from those twenty-four people who visited the moon, no human being has ever left low Earth orbit (Although human remains have been sent beyond low Earth orbit, see space burial). They have, therefore, been further from the Earth than anyone else.
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[edit] People who died during Project Apollo
Although there were no in-flight fatalities in the Apollo program, three astronauts died in a training accident that was later called Apollo 1.
They were stuck in a capsule on the launch pad when a fire broke out. The 100% oxygen atmosphere and flammable materials were cited as factors worsening the wiring-short sparked fire, while the hatch design precluded any hope of a timely escape. Numerous redesigns were incorporated into the spacecraft before manned flights resumed.
- Virgil Grissom - rumors claim he would have been the first man on the Moon if he had not died<ref>Detailed Biographies of Apollo I Crew - Gus Grissom [1], Mary C. Zornio, NASA, accessed July 19, 2006. </ref>
- Edward White
- Roger B. Chaffee
[edit] Other related fatalities in the Apollo program
- Clifton Williams - Plane crash near Tallahassee, Florida, was on back-up crew for Apollo 9.
[edit] People who have walked on the Moon
As of 2006, only the following twelve people have walked on the Moon, each on one mission only. Nobody has walked on the Moon since 1972, and no additional individuals are expected to join this list for at least another decade.
- Neil Armstrong - Apollo 11 - July 1969
- Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin - Apollo 11 - July 1969
- Charles "Pete" Conrad - Apollo 12 - November 1969 (may have been scheduled to land again on Apollo 20)<ref name="Cancelled Apollos"> Apollo 18 through 20 - The Cancelled Missions[2], Dr. David R. Williams, NASA, accessed July 19, 2006. </ref>
- Alan Bean - Apollo 12 - November 1969
- Alan Shepard - Apollo 14 - February 1971
- Edgar Mitchell - Apollo 14 - February 1971
- David Scott - Apollo 15 - July 1971
- James Irwin - Apollo 15 - July 1971
- John Young - Apollo 16 - April 1972 (also on the non-landing Apollo 10)
- Charles Duke - Apollo 16 - April 1972
- Eugene Cernan - Apollo 17 - December 1972 (also on the non-landing Apollo 10)
- Harrison Schmitt - Apollo 17 - December 1972
James A. Lovell, Young, and Cernan are the only three astronauts to fly more than one lunar mission (two each). Of these three, only Lovell did not walk on the lunar surface. Lovell and Fred Haise were prevented from walking on the Moon by the malfunction on Apollo 13 that resulted in the mission being aborted.
Joe Engle had also trained to explore the Moon with Gene Cernan as the backup crew for Apollo 14, but Engle was later replaced by geologist Jack Schmitt when the primary crew for Apollo 17 was selected. Schmitt had been crewed with Dick Gordon in anticipation for Apollo 18. But when Apollo 18 was cancelled, Schmitt bumped Engle, leaving Gordon as the last Apollo astronaut who had trained extensively for lunar exploration without ever getting a chance to fly a lunar landing.
[edit] People who flew around the Moon without landing
On each of the missions listed above one astronaut orbited the Moon while the other two landed. In addition each of the Apollo 8, Apollo 10, and Apollo 13 missions had a three-man crew and closely encountered the Moon (entering orbit in the case of the former two missions, while Apollo 13 only passed around it). Thus twelve more people have been within a few hundred kilometers of the Moon (along with Young and Cernan who flew out to the Moon and back without landing, but landed on subsequent missions):
- Frank Borman - Apollo 8
- Jim Lovell - Apollo 8, Apollo 13: intended to land
- Bill Anders - Apollo 8
- Tom Stafford - Apollo 10
- *John Young - Apollo 10 (* - later landed on Apollo 16)
- **Eugene Cernan - Apollo 10 (** - later landed on Apollo 17)
- Michael Collins - Apollo 11
- Dick Gordon - Apollo 12 (had been slated to land on Apollo 18) <ref name="Cancelled Apollos" />
- Jack Swigert - Apollo 13
- Fred Haise - Apollo 13: intended to land (had been slated to land on Apollo 19) <ref name="Cancelled Apollos" />
- Stuart Roosa - Apollo 14 (may have been slated to land on Apollo 20) <ref name="Cancelled Apollos" />
- Al Worden - Apollo 15
- Ken Mattingly - Apollo 16
- Ronald Evans - Apollo 17
[edit] Other Apollo astronauts
Apollo 7 and Apollo 9 orbited the Earth only; therefore these five Apollo astronauts never went to the Moon:
- Walter Schirra - Apollo 7
- Donn Eisele - Apollo 7 (may have been scheduled as CM pilot on Apollo 14)
- Walter Cunningham - Apollo 7
- James McDivitt - Apollo 9
- Rusty Schweickart - Apollo 9
(David Scott from Apollo 9 went on to land on the Moon in Apollo 15.)
[edit] Backup crewmembers who never flew an Apollo flight
Each Apollo flight had a backup crew who trained to carry out the mission if the original crew was unable to fly. Only one backup crew member was ever used: Jack Swigert switched places with Ken Mattingly after Mattingly had been exposed to German measles a few days prior to the launch of Apollo 13 (Mattingly later flew aboard Apollo 16).
- Gordon Cooper - backup commander for Apollo 10, resigned from NASA in 1970
- Joseph Henry Engle - backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 14, lost the primary pilot slot on Apollo 17 to Harrison Schmitt after the cancellation of Apollo 18. Later flew on the Space Shuttle Enterprise and commanded STS-2 with astronaut Richard Truly.
- Vance D. Brand - backup command module pilot for Apollo 15, had been scheduled as CM pilot on the canceled Apollo 18. He later flew on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project as CM Pilot and four Space Shuttle flights.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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[edit] General reference
- One Giant Leap for Mankind: 35th Anniversary of Apollo 11, NASA, Michael Makara, accessed July 14, 2006it:Lista degli astronauti lunari
nl:Astronauten op de Maan ru:Список астронавтов США — участников лунных экспедиций sk:Zoznam lunárnych astronautov tr:Ay Astronotları zh:阿波罗宇航员列表
