Moonwalker John Young Flies West

While John Young wasn't as well known as several of his fellow lunar strollers, it's impossible to understand why he wasn't. Young was one of the most accomplished of a dizzying assortment of high achievers in the astronaut ranks. He was the commander of Apollo 16. On that mission in 1972, Young commanded the lunar module and took three walks on the moon.

Astronaut John Young, the pilot of the Gemini-Titan 3 prime crew suited up for GT-3 pre-launch test exercises. March 8, 1965

Before Apollo, Young was a Gemini astronaut, and afterward, he was two-time Space Shuttle Commander. In his 42 years at NASA Young flew six different missions and experienced seven liftoffs (the Lunar Module liftoff added one to the already unbelievable tally). Young was an engineer, a test pilot and a fighter pilot, getting his Naval Wings in 1954 and eventually serving as Chief of both the Space Shuttle and Astronaut programs. Hepassed away on January 5th from complications of pneumonia. He was 87.

Learn more at NASA.