Cutaway A Two-Person Gemini Spacecraft In Flight. Desk Mat

On January 3, 1962, the newly announced Mercury Mark II project was renamed Project Gemini. This artist's concept of a two-person Gemini spacecraft in flight shows a cutaway view. Gemini paved the way for Apollo, and had four main goals: to test an astronaut's ability to fly long-duration missions (up to two weeks in space); to understand how spacecraft could rendezvous and dock in orbit around the Earth and the Moon; to perfect re-entry and landing methods; and to further understand the effects of longer space flights on astronauts.