It was on April 2nd that NASA selected its chosen 7 test pilots for the Mercury Space Program: Gordon Cooper, Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, John Glenn, and Alan Shepard. They were displayed to the press in one of those iconic moments of history, on April 9th, 1959, which was recreated in the film The Right Stuff. From then on, pictures of the group of 7 were highly sought after and are still a prized possession of autograph collectors. These seven would become some of the world's most well-known celebrities of the time, although today it is difficult to find school kids who can name any of them. Be honest - could you?
Growing up in those times were different than today - these guys were presented to us almost as knights going up against the dark forces of the communist empire. Now start testing your space knowledge - do you remember which astronauts went up on which flights? Can you remember which of the Mercury 7 did not get to go up during the Mercury program?
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