This star chart was used to train the Gemini 7 astronauts, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, for their fourteen-day mission in Earth orbit in December 1965. Project Gemini was the second U.S. human spaceflight program. Borman and Lovell had as a primary mission testing the medical effects of surviving two weeks in weightlessness, the maximum length expected for a later mission to the Moon. But Gemini 7 also acted as the target for Gemini 6A in carrying out the first rendezvous in space. During their stay in orbit, the astronauts used star charts such as this one to find particular stars for navigation or scientific experiments.
NASA Johnson Space Center (then called the Manned Spacecraft Center) in Houston, Texas, gave this chart to the Smithsonian before 1971.
Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
EQUIPMENT-Test
Dimensions
2-D - Unframed (H x W): 25cm (9 13/16 in. dia.)
Materials
Plastic, metal
Inventory Number
A19870208000
Credit Line
Transferred from the NASA Johnson Space Center
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.