Which United States Marine Corps aviator preceded United States Navy Commander Scott Carpenter as one of the first Americans in space?
Scott Carpenter Malcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013), (Cmdr, USN), was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the original seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959. Carpenter was the second American (after John Glenn) to orbit the Earth and the fourth American in space, following Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and Glenn.
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module "Eagle" on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours after landing on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC; Aldrin joined him about 20 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 lb of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Michael Collins piloted the command module "Columbia" alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon's surface. Armstrong and Aldrin spent just under a day on the lunar surface before rejoining "Columbia" in lunar orbit.