On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced its first astronaut class: the Mercury 7. The seven members made history, and became the subject of fascination and adoration. John Glenn, who died Thursday at ...

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. NASA's first seven ...

The mission was also Tom Stafford's last spaceflight. The Apollo Command Module Pilot, Vance Brand, would go on to fly on ...

The original Mercury 7 astronauts were chosen 50 years ago today by NASA. The test pilots were culled from every branch of military service and became overnight celebrities more than two years ...

The original seven Mercury astronauts are shown during training at NASA Langley Research Center in March 1961 in their flight suits.

Scott Carpenter, one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and the second American to orbit the Earth in the early days of space travel, died Oct. 10 at a hospice in Denver. He was 88.

A SpaceX capsule carrying an international crew from India, Poland, Hungary, and the United States has departed the ...

In December 1959, Popular Mechanics spent a week with the Mercury 7 astronauts and witnessed the beginning of U.S. human spaceflight.

See photos from Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter's historic Aurora 7 orbital flight on May 24, 1962. The flight was America's second orbital spaceflight.

New book of rare NASA Mercury Project photos gives candid glimpse into the earliest days of America’s space program.

On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced its first astronaut class: the Mercury 7. The seven members made history, and became the subject of fascination and adoration. John Glenn, who died Thursday at ...