John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, and Gordon Cooper Signed Photograph.

GLENN, John; Scott Carpenter; Wally Schirra; Gordon Cooper.

$750.00

Item Number: 147470

Twentieth anniversary Astronaut Scholarship Foundation limited edition photograph. Color satin-finish photographic print featuring a visual timeline of an orbital Mercury mission with imagery taken from each of the astronauts’ missions: Schirra is pictured boarding his spacecraft; Glenn’s first American orbital mission is represented by his Atlas launch; Carpenter is seen inside the Mercury capsule; Cooper is represented by an image of his splashdown recovery. Boldly signed by John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, and Gordon Cooper. In fine condition. The piece measures ten inches by 8 inches.

"The first seven American astronauts were an admirable group of individuals chosen to sit at the apex of a pyramid of human effort… They chose to lead by following the opportunity that chance, circumstance, technology and history had prepared for them" (Swenson, Grimwood & Alexander). NASA introduced the seven astronauts in Washington on April 9, 1959. Although the agency viewed Project Mercury's purpose as an experiment to determine whether humans could survive space travel, the seven men immediately became national heroes and were compared by TIME magazine to "Columbus, Magellan, Daniel Boone, and the Wright brothers" (TIME 1959). This limited edition print was introduced to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mercury 7 foundation's establishment.