Mitchell Jamieson, 1963, acrylic, gauze, and paper on canvas.

In a silver-colored spacesuit, astronaut Gordon Cooper steps away from his Mercury spacecraft and into the bright sunlight on the deck of the recovery ship after 22 orbits of Earth. Mitchell Jamieson documented Cooper’s recovery and medical examination and accompanied him back to Cape Canaveral.

This work is on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Mall building from May 28 to Oct. 9, 2011, as part of the NASA | Art: 50 Years of Exploration exhibition.