Mercury Space Program
To see if humans could function effectively in space and to put a man in space before the soviet union did.
Mercury space program. The series began with a suborbital flight about three weeks after the soviet cosmonaut yury gagarin became the first human in space see vostok. Like the explorer 1 before it mercury followed earlier soviet successes at similar missions but it pushed american capabilities to the frontiers of space exploration which made it possible for the subsequent apollo missions that took the first americans to the moon. Glenn was soon followed into orbit by colleagues scott carpenter walter schirra and gordon cooper.
Recover both man and spacecraft safely. Project mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the united states running from 1958 through 1963. Nasa s first seven.
All of the mercury seven eventually flew in space. How the mercury 13 began with the soviet union s 1957 launch of sputnik the first artificial satellite the space race between the ussr and the united states was officially underway. Initiated in 1958 completed in 1963 project mercury was the united states first man in space program.
The program had two aims. To investigate man s ability to function in space. The mercury program represented nasa s first human spaceflight program with the aim to see if humans could function effectively in space for a few minutes or hours at a time.
Mercury was nasa s inaugural human spaceflight program. John glenn scott carpenter and walter. Investigate man s ability to function in space.
Mercury any of the first series of crewed spaceflights conducted by the united states 1961 63. To orbit a manned spacecraft around earth. The objectives of the program which made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963 were specific.