Space: Pictures of Success

Though Gemini 7 was primarily an orbiting medical laboratory designed to test the reactions of Astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell to two weightless weeks in space, the spaceship also turned out to be a superb camera platform. While Borman and Lovell were undergoing complete medical examinations at Cape Kennedy last week, NASA released more of the spectacular pictures the two had taken of the world below them, and of nearby Gemini 6 during rendezvous—a rendezvous, one official noted in passing, that brought the capsules within a foot of each other during their close-formation flying.

One of the most remarkable shots, taken by Lovell as Gemini 7 soared over the Wadi Hadhramaut region in Aden, shows with exceptional clarity a delicate, frostlike pattern of valleys and ridges that should delight both cartographers and geologists. One shot shows Borman concentrating on the use of an inflight vision tester; another shows Lovell peering out of his capsule, admiring the incomparable view from orbit. A closeup picture of Borman illustrates the effects of zero G in space: hovering near his head is a camera-film magazine floating weightlessly during orbit.

Back on earth, the astronauts themselves seemed to be pictures of good health. Within three days after their return, Borman had completely regained the 9.6 Ibs., Lovell the 5.9 Ibs. lost during their trip in space. Neither showed any outward signs of ill effects, and while medical studies were still not complete, the early results looked good. Said NASA Dr. Charles Berry: “A quick look at the data available to us indicates that man has fared extremely well in two weeks of space environment.”