Program Objectives
After the existing Apollo program was chartered by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 to land men on the Moon, it became evident to NASA officials that a follow-on to the Mercury program was required to develop certain spaceflight capabilities in support of Apollo. Originally introduced on December 7 as Mercury Mark II, it was re-christened Project Gemini on January 3, 1962, from the fact that the spacecraft would hold two crewmen, seated abreast, as gemini in Latin means "twins" or "side-by-side". Gemini is also the name of the third constellation of the Zodiac and its twin stars, Castor and Pollux.
The major objectives were:
- To demonstrate endurance of humans and equipment to spaceflight for extended periods, at least eight days required for a Moon landing, to a maximum of two weeks
- To effect rendezvous and docking with another vehicle, and to maneuver the combined spacecraft using the propulsion system of the target vehicle
- To demonstrate Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA), or space-"walks" outside the protection of the spacecraft, and to evaluate the astronauts' ability to perform tasks there
- To perfect techniques of atmospheric reentry and landing at a pre-selected location
- To provide the astronauts with zero-gravity, rendezvous, and docking experience required for Apollo
Read more about this topic: Project Gemini
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