For several tense minutes, the astronauts of Gemini Six were sitting on top of a highly explosive mass of rocket fuel.

VOA: special.2009.07.01

"We'll be up shortly," he said. A few minutes later, the astronauts were able to see each others' spacecraft.

VOA: special.2009.07.01

Now the problem was how to get the astronauts back to Earth as quickly and safely as possible.

VOA: special.2009.07.22

Near the moon, the astronauts fired rockets to slow the spacecraft enough to put it into moon orbit.

VOA: special.2009.07.15

Back on Earth, space scientists and engineers worked around the clock to design and test new ideas to help the astronauts survive.

VOA: special.2009.07.22

The astronauts' decrease in bone strength measured from point six percent to five percent for each month spent on the space station.

VOA: special.2009.03.10

Two hours after Apollo Thirteen went around the moon, the astronauts fired the rocket for five minutes.

VOA: special.2009.07.22

One hundred forty meters from the surface, the astronauts took control of the lander from the computer.

VOA: special.2009.07.15

The astronauts also left many scientific devices that would continue to report information about the moon.

VOA: special.2009.07.29

That was the job of the astronauts of Apollo Nine: James McDivitt,David Scott and Russell Schweickart.

VOA: special.2009.07.08

It took the astronauts more than three hours to complete the preparations for leaving the lander.

VOA: special.2009.07.15

The astronauts were three hundred twenty thousand kilometers from Earth with little oxygen, electricity and water.

VOA: special.2009.07.22

But the astronauts soon learned that the explosion had caused the other oxygen tank to leak.

VOA: special.2009.07.22

Engineers on the ground designed a way the astronauts could connect air-cleaning devices from the command module to the air system in the lunar module.

VOA: special.2009.07.22

The Eagle has landed." NASA's plan had called for the astronauts to test instruments, eat and then rest for four hours before leaving the Eagle.

VOA: special.2009.07.15

The astronauts used it to carry tools and cameras while they were on the moon.

VOA: special.2009.07.29

The astronauts made three trips in the lunar rover to take pictures and collect rocks.

VOA: special.2009.07.29

The Mercury spacecraft had the needed atmospheric pressure to keep the astronauts safe.

VOA: special.2011.04.06

The astronauts made the connector from a plastic bag, cardboard and tape.

VOA: special.2009.07.22

They were just a few of the things the astronauts left behind.

VOA: special.2010.03.02

The astronauts had planned to re-open the door during their four-day flight.

VOA: special.2009.06.24

The carbon dioxide the astronauts breathed out was poisoning the air.

VOA: special.2009.07.22

On December twenty-fourth, the astronauts made a television broadcast to Earth.

VOA: special.2009.07.08

Scientists were excited about the moon rocks the astronauts brought back.

VOA: special.2009.07.29

The astronauts for that flight were Frank Borman and James Lovell.

VOA: special.2009.06.24

On the sixty-second orbit, the astronauts prepared to return to Earth.

VOA: special.2009.06.24

The astronauts worked calmly to get the power back on.

VOA: special.2009.07.29

The astronauts had removed all air pressure from the spacecraft.

VOA: special.2009.06.24