Newly discovered photos show astronaut Neil Armstrong after the Gemini 8 emergency
NEW YORK — Sixty years after Neil Armstrong narrowly survived an emergency orbiting Earth on Gemini 8, never-before-seen photos of his heroic return have been donated to the Ohio museum that bears his name.
Quick thinking saved Armstrong and fellow astronaut David Scott, who ended the mission early with a water landing off the coast of Okinawa, Japan.
Never-before-seen photos taken by Ron McQueeney, an Army veteran and professional photographer who escorted Armstrong and Scott, show new angles of the couple.
Because the splashdown was unplanned, few members of the media were on site, although NASA and Army photographers were present. People who were unexpectedly called in to help with recovery operations, like McQueeney, played a key role in capturing the aftermath.
“Sometimes an incredible event can be documented by the most ordinary means,” said Dante Centuori, executive director of the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Armstrong’s hometown in western Ohio.
McQueeney’s widow donated the photos, which show Armstrong and Scott on the deck of a U.S. Navy ship saluting service members ashore. One shows the Gemini 8 capsule being lifted into the air for transport.
One of the objectives of the mission was to achieve the first docking in space. Minutes after accomplishing this, both spaceships began to fall uncontrollably. The astronauts separated from the other spacecraft but the rotation got worse.
Armstrong made a calculated decision, deploying the craft’s thrusters to stop the rotation. In doing so, he consumed some of the vital fuel needed to return home. For security reasons, they had to end the mission early.
The duo ditched about 10 hours after launch on March 16, 1966. They were picked up by a recovery ship and brought to Naha Air Base in Japan.
Centuori said one thing that stands out in the photos is the smiles on the astronauts’ faces, which he said shows their professionalism and ability to stay comfortable even after a life-threatening mission.
Science historian Robert Poole said these smiles indicate something else.
“What strikes me most is that they are very happy to be alive,” said Poole, of the University of Lancashire.
Armstrong’s ability to remain calm in a crisis was key to his being chosen as Apollo 11 commander, Poole said.
More than half a century after the last Apollo mission, NASA is preparing to return to the Moon with a lunar flyby by Artemis astronauts in April.
Past missions are reminders of the effort and preparation needed to reach space and adapt when plans change.
“Seeing people frequently launch into space might suggest it’s easy, but it’s very difficult. And it requires a lot of resources and attention,” said Emily Margolis, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum.
The new images will help the Armstrong Museum fill in the gaps when telling the story of the mission to visitors. The Gemini 8 capsule is already on display at the museum.
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