NASA Astronaut Group 2, also known as the Next Nine and the New Nine, was the second group of astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Their selection was announced on September 17, 1962. The group augmented the Mercury Seven. President John F. Kennedy had announced Project Apollo, on May 25, 1961, with the ambitious goal of putting a man on the Moon by the end of the decade, and more astronauts were required to fly the two-man Gemini spacecraft and three-man Apollo spacecraft then under development. The Mercury Seven had been selected to accomplish the simpler task of orbital flight, but the new challenges of space rendezvous and lunar landing led to the selection of candidates with advanced engineering degrees as well as test pilot experience.
Group 2 astronauts. Back row, left to right: See, McDivitt, Lovell, White, Stafford. Front row: Conrad, Borman, Armstrong, Young. Before them are models of the Mercury, Apollo, and Gemini spacecraft.
"We choose to go to the Moon": President John F. Kennedy speaks on the nation's space effort at Rice University in Houston, on September 12, 1962
The first two groups of astronauts selected by NASA. The Mercury Seven are seated at the front, with the Next Nine standing behind them.
The Next Nine during desert survival training in Nevada in August 1963. Front row, left to right: Borman, Lovell, Young, Conrad, McDivitt, White. Back row, left to right: Raymond Zedehar, Stafford, Slayton, Armstrong and See
The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The Mercury Seven created a new profession in the United States, and established the image of the American astronaut for decades to come.
The Mercury Seven in 1960 Back: Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper; Front: Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter
The Mercury Seven in front of an F-106 Delta Dart
(L to R) Cooper, Schirra (partially obscured), Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Slayton, and Carpenter
Memorial at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14