Mercury 7 50th Anniversary

At a press conference in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 1959, NASA introduced the Mercury Seven to the public.

The press and public soon adopted them as heroes, embodying the new spirit of space exploration.

During the five-year life of the project, six human-tended flights and eight automated flights were completed, proving that human spaceflight was possible. These missions paved the way for the Gemini and Apollo programs as well as for all further human spaceflight.

The "Mercury Seven" were Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., John H. Glenn, Jr., Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton.

Mark R. Hailey, NASA Televisions Art Director, created this piece