“Okay, let’s not kill each other long enough so we can take this f&%!ing picture.” From left, Jim Lovell, Buzz Aldrin, Eugene Cernan, and Gordon Cooper

I am assuming these guys were supposed to be “sweeping up” the end of the Gemini Program or something. Jim, of course, is the only one who looks happy to be in the picture. The rest of the guys are giving it the best fake enthusiasm that they can muster for government pay.

The fact that they put Buzz and Gene next to each other makes me get the giggles. If you read Gene’s book Last Man on the Moon, he made it pretty obvious that most of the time he wanted to strangle Buzz Aldrin. The way their heads are tenderly angled against each other…this picture is actually labeled “omgwhut” in my picture library.

Thanks to Retro Space Images on Facebook for this hot mess of a crew portrait.

Emily Carney is a writer, space enthusiast, and creator of the This Space Available space blog, published since 2010. In January 2019, Emily’s This Space Available blog was incorporated into the National Space Society’s blog. The content of Emily’s blog can be accessed via the This Space Available blog category.

Note: The views expressed in This Space Available are those of the author and should not be considered as representing the positions or views of the National Space Society.