NASA Astronaut Group 3—'The Fourteen'—was a group of fourteen astronauts selected by NASA for the Gemini and Apollo program. Their selection was announced in October 1963. Seven were from the United States Air Force, four from the United States Navy, one was from the United States Marine Corps and two were civilians. Four died in training accidents before they could fly in space. All of the surviving ten flew Apollo missions; five also flew Gemini missions. Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Gene Cernan and David Scott walked on the Moon.
Group 3 astronauts. Back row, left to right: Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams. Front row, left to right: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee.
U.S. Survey Geologist E. Dale Jackson, (left), with Astronauts (left to right) Bill Anders, Richard Gordon, Neil Armstrong and Donn Eisele during Geological Training in Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Image: Astronaut Edwin E. Buzz Aldrin Jr
Image: William Anders
Project Gemini was the second United States human spaceflight program to fly. Conducted after the first American manned space program, Project Mercury, while the Apollo program was still in early development, Gemini was conceived in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual astronauts flew low Earth orbit (LEO) missions during 1965 and 1966.
A cutaway illustration of the Gemini spacecraft. The Adapter module in white, the Reentry module in grey
Gemini VII Capsule
Unablated Gemini heat shield
Ablated Gemini heat shield
