The Mercury Seven Trivia Quiz

Answer: Scott Carpenter

The "Mercury Seven" were John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Donald "Deke" Slayton.

Armstrong, Borman, and Lovell were all chosen in Astronaut Group 2 in 1962.

Answer: Alan Shepard

Alan Shepard piloted "Freedom 7" on a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961 becoming the first American (and second human after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin) in space. Gus Grissom piloted "Liberty Bell 7" in the second suborbital flight on July 21, 1961. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth when he piloted "Friendship 7" on February 20, 1962. Wally Schirra flew six orbits in "Sigma 7" on October 3, 1962.

Answer: Deke Slayton

Deke Slayton was scheduled to fly the second orbital flight, to have been named "Delta 7", in 1962, but was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and was grounded. He became NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations responsible for astronaut assignments during the Gemini and Apollo projects.

His flight status was restored in 1973 and he flew on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975. At the time of his mission, he was the oldest person ever to fly in space.

Answer: Wally Schirra

Schirra flew "Sigma 7" (Mercury-Atlas 8), Gemini 6A, and Apollo 7. Gus Grissom flew on "Liberty Bell 7" (Mercury-Redstone 4), Gemini 3, and was scheduled to fly Apollo 1 but was killed in the tragic Apollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967 before the mission launched. Alan Shepard flew Freedom 7 (Mercury-Redstone 3) and Apollo 14. Deke Slayton's only flight in space was on the Apollo-Soyuz mission.

Answer: Alan Shepard

Alan Shepard was originally slated to be the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, but was bumped back to the Apollo 14 flight leaving an opening for Jim Lovell and his crew. Shepard smuggled a six iron golf club and two balls onto the Apollo 14 lander and made perhaps the two most famous shots in golf history in the low gravity of the moon.

Answer: The Right Stuff

The film stars Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard, Ed Harris as John Glenn, Dennis Quaid as Gordon Cooper, Fred Ward as Gus Grissom, Scott Paulin as Deke Slayton, Charles Frank as Scott Carpenter, and Lance Henriksen as Wally Schirra. The film was nominated for 11 academy awards including Best Picture. It won four awards but lost the Best Picture nod to "Terms of Endearment".

Answer: Chuck Yeager

West Virginia native Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) on September 12, 1941 and was later chosen for the services "Flying Sergeants" program. He later became an officer and test pilot. He had a cameo role in the 1983 film "The Right Stuff".

Answer: Scott Carpenter

Carpenter, a naval officer, tested new tools, salvage methods, and diving equipment during his record setting stay in deep water. He later became a best selling fiction writer with his novel "The Steel Albatross" and has authored and co-authored several books about the space program.

Answer: John Glenn

Glenn flew the STS-95 mission on the Space Shuttle "Discovery" from October 29, 1998 to November 7, 1998. At the time, Glenn was a US Senator and his flight was also notable because he became only the third sitting American politician to travel in space after Senator Jake Garn and Congressman (later Senator) Bill Nelson.

Answer: 7

Carpenter, Shepard, and Schirra were aviators in the United States Navy; Grissom, Cooper, and Slayton were officers in the United States Air Force; and John Glenn was a Marine Corp pilot.