The Explorers' Club, № CMIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of the New Nine, Part I
17 September 1962: N.A.S.A.'s Astronaut Group 2—the "New Nine"—were announced: Neil A. Armstrong, Frank F. Borman II, Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr., James A. Lovell Jr., James A. McDivitt, Elliot M. See Jr., Thomas P. Stafford, Edward H. White II, & John W. Young; the Nine were the heart of the astronaut corps throughout Gemini & into Apollo & Skylab, & included three Moonwalkers.

Commentary: The names of the second batch of N.A.S.A. astronauts were announced five days after President Kennedy's "We choose to go to the Moon" speech & sixteen days before Wally Schirra's flawless Mercury-Atlas 8 mission, the second-to-last spaceflight of Project Mercury.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: New Nine
Reel Big Fish, "Brand New Hero" from Cheer Up! (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.