Astronauts Visit McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

In 1964, hosted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) staff, astronauts who had flown, or would go onto fly, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, or Space Shuttle missions experienced a live, large scale projected viewing of the Sun in the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope. From left to right: Jim McDivitt, Elliot See, Bill Anders

Throughout the 1960s, the following astronauts visited MMP: Buzz Aldrin, Dave Scott, Dick Gordon, Michael Collins, Roger B. Chaffee, Charlie Bassett, Alan Bean, Walter Cunningham, Rusty Schweickart, James A. McDivitt, Bill Anders, Elliot See, Thomas P. Safford, Walter Schirra, Gordon Cooper, Alan Shepard, Scott Carpenter, Edward H. White, Neil Armstrong, Charles Conrad, John Young, James Lovell, and Deke Slayton.