Gemini IX-A launched 1966

Gemini IX-A crew: Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan

Mission patch

Gemini IX-A, launched June 3, 1966, was the seventh crewed Gemini flight.  Its crew consisted of Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan.  Elliott See was intended to be the commander and Charles Bassett to be pilot, but they were killed in a training accident in February.

The main objective was to dock with the Agena Target Vehicle, but because of a launch preparation error on the target vehicle, they were unable to.

The second objective was for Cernan to conduct an EVA and test the Air Force's Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, but this was not achieved since Cernan experienced cardiac stress, overheating and fatigue during the EVA.

The third objective, carrying out scientific experiments, was completed.

They returned to Earth June 6.

Gemini IX-A launched 1966

Gemini IX-A crew: Thomas Stafford, Eugene Cernan

Mission patch

Gemini IX-A, launched June 3, 1966, was renamed after the original mission, planned to launch May 17, was cancelled when the rendezvous vehicle was destroyed during a launch failure.  Its crew, Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan, tried to dock with the backup rendezvous craft, the Augmented Target Docking Adaptor (ATDA) because the nose pairing failed to eject from the docking target.

The original crew, Elliot See and Charles Bassett, was killed in an aircraft crash February 26, 1966.

Cernan performed a two-hour EVA in an attempt to demonstrate the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, but could not complete it due to stress, fatigue and overheating.

They returned to Earth June 6.

Gene Cernan, last man on the moon, born 1934

Eugene "Gene" Cernan, born March 14, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, was the last man to walk on the moon.  He made two trips to the moon on separate occasions, the first in Apollo 10 and the second in Apollo 17. 

His first mission in space was on Gemini IX with Tom Stafford in June 1966.  They were selected as the backup crew but the primary crew (Elliot See and Charles Bassett) was killed in a crash on February 28, 1966.  Cernan and Stafford performed rendezvous procedures that would be used on Apollo 10.

He and Stafford went into space on Apollo 10 in May 1969 on what would be the final "dress rehearsal" for the moon landing, which Apollo 11 accomplished two months later.

His final flight was as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972. It was the last mission of the Apollo program.  He and Harrison Schmitt performed three EVAs for about 22 hours.  He was the last man to climb up the ladder into the Lunar lander.

Cernan published his memoir The Last Man on the Moon in 1999.

He passed away in January 2017 at 82 years old.