Who Were The Apollo Astronauts?

This article will present the Apollo Programs astronauts with infographics, pictures, missions, and nicknames. They are American heroes sent to the Moon to discover and explore new frontiers. Let us never forget these brave men. So, who were the Apollo Projects astronauts?

NASA selected 32 American astronauts to the Apollo Program. Twenty-four, flying on nine missions between December 1968 and December 1972, orbited the Moon. And during six two-person lunar landing missions. Twelve Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon, and six of the astronauts drove Lunar Roving Vehicles. Three of them flew to the Moon twice, one astronaut orbiting both times, and two landings once, respectively. Aside from these 24 men, no human being has gone past low Earth orbit.

The Apollo Program involved three other crewed missions. Apollo 1 did not launch. Its crew sadly died in a capsule fire. Apollo 7 and Apollo 9 were both low Earth orbit missions. They were testing spacecraft segments and docking maneuvers. Nine Apollo astronauts flew the unused Apollo command modules in the later coming Apollo Applications Program’s Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz Test Projects.

Of the twenty-four Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon, two went on to command a Skylab mission. One commanded Apollo–Soyuz, one flew as commander for Approach and Landing Tests of the Space Shuttle, and two commanded orbital Space Shuttle missions.

Pictures, Infographics, And Nicknames Of All Apollo Programs Astronauts

Apollo Astronauts From The Mercury Seven

Apollo Astronauts from the Mercury Seven.
Apollo Astronauts from the Mercury Seven.

They Are Also Called The Original Seven And Astronaut Group 1

Here is a list of these heroes.
  1. Virgil I. Grissom. Nickname “Gus”– Pilot of Liberty Bell 7 and commander of the first crewed Gemini mission.
  2. Walter M. Schirra Jr. Nickname “Wally” – Pilot of Sigma 7 and commander of Gemini 6A.
  3. Alan B. Shepard Jr. – America’s first man in space on Freedom 7. The only astronaut to swing a golf club on the Moon.

Apollo Astronauts From Group 2

Apollo Astronauts From Group 2.
Apollo Astronauts From Group 2.

All of these Apollo astronauts flew on Gemini, and except for White, each commanded one Gemini and one Apollo mission:

  1. Edward Higgins White II. Nickname “Ed” – Pilot of Gemini 4, White was selected as the senior pilot (second seat) for the first crewed Apollo 1 flight, designated AS-204.
  2. James Alton McDivitt – Commander of Gemini 4 and Apollo 9.
  3. Frank Frederick Borman II. – Commander of Gemini 7 and Apollo 8.
  4. James Arthur Lovell Jr. – Second-seat pilot of Gemini 7, Commander of Gemini 12, Command Module Pilot (second seat) on Apollo 8, and Commander of Apollo 13.
  5. Thomas Patten Stafford – Second-seat pilot of Gemini 6A and Commander of Gemini 9A. He also commanded a lunar orbital test of the Lunar Module on Apollo 10. Thomas commanded the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project mission.
  6. John Watts Young – Second-seat pilot of Gemini 3 and Commander of Gemini 10. He also flew as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 10. Young next commanded the Apollo 16 lunar landing. He commanded the first Space Shuttle flight, STS-1 Columbia and STS-9.
  7. Neil Alden Armstrong – Commander of Gemini 8 and commanded Apollo 11. Neil was the first man on the Moon.

Apollo Astronauts From Group 3

Group 3 was the first class of astronauts for which test pilot experience was not required. However, the military jet fighter pilot experience was acceptable. Furthermore, five from this group got their first spaceflight experience as the second seat on Gemini. And the remaining six members from group 3 were selected for their first space flights on Apollo.

  1. David Randolph Scott – Second-seat pilot of Gemini 8, flew as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 9 and also commanded the Apollo 15 lunar landing.
  2. Eugene Andrew Cernan – Second-seat pilot on Gemini 9A. He also flew as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 10 and commanded the last Moon landing mission Apollo 17.
  3. Michael Collins – Second-seat pilot on Gemini 10. He also flew as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 11.
  4. Edwin “Buzz” Eugene Aldrin Jr. – Second-seat pilot on Gemini 12. Buzz also flew as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, the first Moon landing.
  5. Richard Francis Gordon Jr. – the Second-seat pilot on Gemini 11. He also flew as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 12. Gordon was chosen to command the Apollo 18 lunar landing, which was later canceled.
  6. Roger Bruce Chaffee – Selected as Pilot (third seat) on Apollo 1, was tragically killed with Grissom and White in the fire.
  7. Donn Fulton Eisele – He Flew the second seat on Apollo 7.
  8. Ronnie Walter Cunningham – He flew the third seat on Apollo 7.
  9. Russell Louis “Rusty” Schweickart – He Flew as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 9. Schweickart conducted an EVA outside the spacecraft, testing the portable life support system used on the Moon.
  10. William Alison Anders – He flew the third seat on Apollo 8.
  11. Alan LaVern Bean – He flew as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 12. Bean later served as Commander for Skylab 3.

Apollo Scientist Astronauts From Group 4

Apollo Scientist Astronauts From Group 4.
Apollo Scientist Astronauts From Group 4.

In 1965, NASA named a group of five Apollo Scientist astronauts. The first group qualified by doctorate degrees, preferably than test or military fighter pilot experience. Geologist Harrison H. “Jack” Schmitt engaged in the geological training of the lunar landing astronauts. He was also assisting in the analysis of returned lunar samples and the preparation of mission reports. 

In 1970, he was picked as Lunar Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 backup crew and prime crew on Apollo 18. When program cutbacks removed missions 18 through 20, NASA’s lunar geological community required having a geologist on the Moon; therefore, Slayton reassigned Schmitt to Apollo 17.

Apollo Astronauts From Group 5

Apollo Astronauts From Group 5 "The Original Nineteen"
Apollo Astronauts From Group 5 “The Original Nineteen” Back row, left to right: Swigert, Pogue, Evans, Weitz, Irwin, Carr, Roosa, Worden, Mattingly, Lousma. Front row, from left to right: Givens, Mitchell, Duke, Lind, Haise, Engle, Brand, Bull, McCandless

NASA named a group of 19 astronauts in April 1966. None had spaceflight experience before their Apollo mission. Of the six Lunar Module Pilots that walked on the lunar surface, three came from Group 5. As a whole, this group is split between the half that flew to the Moon (nine in all) and the half which flew Skylab and Space Shuttle, providing the core of Shuttle commanders early in that program. That group is also distinctive in being the only time when NASA hired a person into the astronaut corps who had already earned astronaut wings, X-15 pilot Joe Engle. John Young labeled the group the Original Nineteen in a mockery of the original Mercury Seven astronauts.

Apollo astronauts who trained for Apollo but did not fly Apollo missions.

Apollo astronauts who trained for Apollo but did not fly Apollo missions.
Apollo astronauts who trained for Apollo but did not fly Apollo missions.
  1. Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr. – Missions: Mercury-Atlas 9, Gemini 5.
  2. Clifton Curtis “C.C.” Williams, Jr. – (He was killed in a plane crash).
  3. Vance DeVoe Brand – Missions: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, STS-5, STS-41-B, STS-35.
  4. Edward Galen Givens Jr. – (He died in an automobile accident).
  5. Joe Henry Engle – Missions: X-15 Flight 138, X-15 Flight 143, X-15 Flight 153, ALT, STS-2, STS-51-I.

Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon

Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon.
Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon.

Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. Career

Alan Shepard
  • November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998
  • Astronaut – Apollo 14
  • Chief of the Astronaut Office
  • Naval Aviator
  • Test Pilot
  • The first American astronaut to travel into space in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7

Alan was appointed as the commander of the first crewed Project Gemini mission but was grounded in 1963 due to Ménière’s disease, an inner-ear ailment that caused episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea. It was surgically corrected in 1969, and in 1971, Alan Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the Apollo Lunar Module named Antares.

Alan became the fifth, the oldest, and the earliest-born person to walk on the Moon. Shepard was the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to do so. Furthermore, during the Apollo 14 mission, he hit two golf balls on the lunar surface.

Which Golf Club Did Alan Shepard Use On The Moon?

Alan Shepard and his Apollo 14 moon club at a visit to Golf House in 1996.

The moon club was a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead weighing 16.5 ounces. It was carried by Shepard on board the Apollo 14 mission to the moon, as seen at the USGA Golf Museum. The club featured a club head attached to a retractable Teflon shaft ordinarily used on a device to collect soil samples.

In the run-up to the Apollo 14 mission to the moon, Commander Shepard approached Jack Kinzler. He was a NASA engineer and chief of its Technical Service Center, with an odd request. Kinzler was called NASA’s Mr. Fix-It.

The Moon Club

The Moon Club

He asked if they could make a golf club for him. He wanted not the whole [golf] club but just the clubhead for something he could use on the moon. So they made a golf club. It was a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead, weighing 16.5 ounces, and he took it in his PPK kit [Pilot’s Preference Kit]. The club was like a set of snap-on tools that have ratchets.

The famous moon club that Kinzler helped make, featuring a Wilson Dynapower 6-iron clubhead, became the club that Shepard nicely used on the moon, hitting two golf balls, one of which was sailing “miles and miles.” 

Thanks partly to Mr.Fix-It Jack Kinzler, two small white spheres now grace the lunar surface. And one of them hit some 200 yards in what will forever remain the most famous golf shot in the universe. The Moon club is on display at the United States Golf Association Museum.

John Young – The Ninth Person To Walk On The Moon

John Watts Young Career

  • September 24, 1930 – January 5, 2018
  • American astronaut
  • Naval officer
  • Aviator
  • Test pilot 
  • Aeronautical engineer. 

John became the ninth person to walk on the Moon as commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. 

Watts also flew on four different spacecraft classes

  • Gemini
  • the Apollo command and service module
  • the Apollo Lunar Module
  • the Space Shuttle

Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. – The Third Person To Walk On The Moon

Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr.

Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. Career

  • June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999
  • NASA astronaut
  • aeronautical engineer
  • naval officer
  • aviator
  • test pilot
  • He commanded the Apollo 12 space mission, on which 

Pete was the third person to walk on the Moon. He was selected in NASA’s second astronaut class in 1962.

Walter Marty Schirra Jr. Career

Walter Marty Schirra Jr.
  • March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007
  • Naval Aviator
  • Test Pilot
  • NASA Astronaut
  • He Was One Of The Original Seven Astronauts Chosen For Project Mercury
  • He Flew The Six-Orbit Mercury-Atlas 8 Mission
  • He was The Fifth American And Ninth Human To Travel Into Space
  •  First space rendezvous, Station-Keeping With Gemini 6A
  • Walter Commanded Apollo 7
  • “Wally” Was The First American Astronaut To Go Into Space Three Times
  • He Was The Only Astronaut To Have Flown In The Mercury, Gemini, And Apollo programs

Here are Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon without landing

Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon without landing.
Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon without landing.

Thanks for reading this article about the historic Apollo astronauts. If you want to know more about the Apollo Program, then head over to this article called; A Complete Guide to NASA’s Apollo Program.

Scroll to Top