On March 32, 1965, astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young were launched into space aboard Gemini III, America’s first two-man spacecraft. Grissom – one of the original Mercury 7 – had previously flown to space on July 21, 1971, on Mercury 4, America’s second manned spaceflight.

It was the first flight of a long and storied career for Young, who returned to space aboard Gemini X in 1966, and again on Apollo 10 in May 1969, where he traveled to the Moon during the final dress rehearsal before the Apollo 11 Moon landing in July of the same year. Young eventually walked on the Moon as Commander of Apollo 16 in 1972, becoming one of just 12 men to set foot on the lunar surface. Young also helped pioneer the Space Shuttle program as a pilot on STS 1 and STS 9.

Young was inducted into the prestigious International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in 1995.

Sadly, Grissom perished at age 40 alongside Roger Chaffee and Ed White on Jan. 27, 1967 in the tragic Apollo 1 fire.