GEMINI

(Latin: Twins), in astronomy, zodiacal constellation lying between Cancer and Taurus, at about 7 hours right ascension (the coordinate of the celestial sphere analogous to longitude on the Earth) and 22 north declination (angular distance north of the celestial equator). Its brightest stars are Castor and Pollux (Alpha and Beta Geminorum), Pollux being the brighter of the two. The summer solstice, the northernmost point reached by the Sun in its annual apparent journey among the stars, lies in Gemini. In astrology, Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac, considered as governing the period c. May 21c. June 21. It is represented by a set of twins (in Egyptian astrology by a pair of goats and in Arabian astrology by a pair of peacocks). In addition to their identification as Castor and Pollux, the twins have also been related to other celebrated pairs, such as the younger and older Horus, or Romulus and Remus. The Gemini program was conducted between 1964 and 1967 to give NASA engineers and astronauts Astronauts John W. Young, Jr., (left) and Virgil I. Grissom inside their Gemini 3 spacecraft Gemini 4 astronaut Edward White during his historic 21-minute spacewalk on June 5, 1965. White was any of a series of 12 two-man spacecraft launched into orbit around the Earth by the United States between 1964 and 1967. The Gemini (Latin: Twins) program was preceded by the Mercury series of one-man spacecraft and was followed by the Apollo series of three-man spacecraft. The Gemini program was chiefly designed to test the ability of astronauts to maneuver their spacecraft by means of manual control. The Gemini series, directed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), helped to develop the techniques for orbital rendezvous and docking with a target vehicle, procedures that were vital to the subsequent Apollo Moon-landing program. It also provided NASA engineers with an opportunity to improve environmental control and electrical power systems of spacecraft. During the Gemini 4 mission (launched June 3, 1965), astronaut Edward H. White practiced maneuvering outside the spacecraft for 20 minutes, demonstrating man's increasing ability to function in space. Gemini 5 (Aug. 21, 1965) completed an eight-day mission, the longest space flight undertaken up to that time. Gemini 12 (Nov. 11, 1966), the last in the series, made the first automatically controlled reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.