Gordon Cooper, Mercury/Gemini astronaut born 1927

Gordon Cooper, born March 6, 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, was one of the first original astronauts chosen for Project Mercury, the first manned space program for the U.S.  He flew on the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) in May 1963.  It was also the longest Mercury flight, and he was the first American to get to sleep during a mission, which lasted 34 hours.  This flight marked the last time an American was to be launched on a solo orbital mission.

In August 1965, Cooper flew as Command Pilot of Gemini V with Pete Conrad.  The mission lasted eight days, setting a new record, demonstrating that astronauts could survive in space for the time necessary to fly to the moon and back.

Cooper retired from NASA in 1970.  He passed away in October 2004 from heart failure at age 77.  He had contracted Parkinson's disease prior to his death.

Gemini V launched 1965

(L-R): Pete Conrad, Gordon Cooper

Gemini V, the third Gemini flight, the 11th manned American flight and the 19th spaceflight of all time, launched August 21, 1965 from Cape Kennedy in Florida.  On board were the Command Pilot L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. and Pilot Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr.  They spent 7 days, 22 hours and 55 minutes in space, breaking the existing record for duration set by Vostok 5 in 1963.

Conrad and Cooper conducted medical experiments during the mission, but they did not have much of appetites.  They averaged about 1000 cal/day although the intended daily intake was 2700cal.  They also experienced dandruff as a significant problem, which was believed to be the results of very low ambient humidity in the cabin, causing their skin to become dry and flaky.

Pete Conrad, 3rd person to walk on the moon, born in 1930

During the Apollo 12 mission in November 1969, Pete Conrad, born June 2, 1930, became the 3rd man to walk on the moon.  He made his first EVA shortly after the lunar module landed in the Ocean of Storms, followed by Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean.  This was Conrad's third space flight having flown on Gemini 5 and Gemini 11.  He later commanded the Skylab 2 mission.

When Pete stepped off the ladder onto the landing pad, he said:
"Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."

He was referring to his shorter stature compared to Neil Armstrong.  Pete made a $500 bet with Italian reporter Oriana Fallaci that he would say those words, proving that NASA does not write a script for the astronauts.  He never collected on his bet, though.