THE SEVEN CHOSEN

BECAUSE of the demands of their assignment the seven Mercury Astronauts have age, size and background generally in common. But equally important are their dissimilarities, for the Astronauts are individualists all.

John Herschel Glenn Jr., 37, Marine lieutenant colonel; 180 lbs, 5 ft. 10 1/2 in., green eyes, red hair (thinning in front). Presbyterian (Sunday school teacher). Born: Cambridge. Ohio; attended Muskingum College at New Concord, Ohio (1939-42), but quit to enter service in 1942. Glenn is the Astronauts' top-ranking, most experienced officer (more than 5,000 flight hours, 1,500 in jets), has seen the most combat (59 World War II fighter-bomber missions in the Pacific, 100 missions, three MIGs downed in Korea), carries the weightiest decorations (five Distinguished Flying Crosses, 19 Air Medals), is the most famed of the lot (he won headlines in 1957 as the first man to fly supersonically from Los Angeles to New York--piloting a Chance Vought F8U in 3 hr., 23 min.--later won $25,000 on TV's Name That Tune), probably has the most space savvy (McDonnell Aircraft consulted him in blueprinting Project Mercury's space capsule). He is also the champion humorist of the fast-cracking group, says: "I'm probably doing this because it is the nearest to heaven I'll ever get." His wife's opinions? "She thinks I'm just about out of this world anyway. I might as well go all the way."

Malcolm Scott Carpenter, 33, Navy lieutenant, 160 lbs., 5 ft. 10 1/2 in., green eyes, brown hair. Episcopalian. Born: Boulder, Colo.; graduated University of Colorado, '49 (aeronautical engineering). Scott Carpenter went back into the Navy in 1949 to complete flight training interrupted at World War II's end, logged part of his 2,800 flight hours (300 in jets) in Korean combat (aerial mining, antisub patrols), then went through Navy Test Pilot School, General Line School, Air Intelligence School, became air intelligence officer of the carrier Hornet. He recalls: "When I was notified that I was being considered [for Mercury], I was at sea, and so my wife called Washington and volunteered for me."

Walter Marty Schirra Jr., 36, Navy lieutenant commander, 185 lbs., 5 ft. 10 in., brown eyes, brown hair. Episcopalian. Born: Hackensack, N.J.; graduated U.S. Naval Academy, '45 (215th in a class of 1,045). Wally Schirra, son of a World War I ace, learned to fly a plane as a youngster ("It was in the family"), has logged 3,000 military flight hours (1,700 in jets). He flew 90 Korean combat missions (one MIG downed, one Distinguished Flying Cross, two Air Medals), served in peacetime as a Navy carrier flight instructor, as a test pilot helped develop a whole family of transonic jets: the Cutlass, the Fury, the Demon. Most recent assignment: test pilot for the new Mach 2 F4H McDonnell fighter. Last week Schirra's son, Marty, 8, chortled to his third-grade classmates: "My Dad is going on a rocket to the moon!" Replied a friend nonchalantly: "Have him bring me back a piece of green cheese."

Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., 35, Navy lieutenant commander; 160 lbs., 5 ft. 11 in., blue eyes, brown hair. Christian Scientist. Born: East Derry, N.H.; graduated U.S. Naval Academy, '44 (462nd in a class of 913). In World War II, Al Shepard saw Pacific combat on the destroyer Cogswell, then won his wings ('47), and after a Mediterranean tour with the fleet qualified as a test pilot, flew high-altitude research missions, helped develop the Navy's in-flight refueling system and carrier landings of the F2H-3 Banshee. With 3,600 flight hours (1,700 in jets), he was tapped as a fast-rising comer, sent to the Naval War College ('58), then got the key job of aircraft readiness officer for the Atlantic Fleet. Says his wife Louise: "He is always reading technical manuals and the big policy-type journals, the kind the admirals and generals say should be read. He is one of those lucky men--his work is his hobby."

Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr., 32, Air Force captain, 150 lbs., 5 ft. 9 1/2 in., blue eyes, brown hair. Methodist. Born: Shawnee, Okla. After a hitch in the Marines he attended the University of Hawaii, got an Army commission, transferred to the Air Force. Rolled up 2,300 flying hours (1,400 in jets), graduated Air Force Institute of Technology, '56 (aeronautical engineering), was test pilot for experimental fighters at Edwards Air Force Base.

Virgil Ivan Grissom, 33, Air Force captain, 155 lbs., 5 ft. 7 in., brown eyes, brown hair. Church of Christ. Born: Mitchell, Ind.; graduated Purdue University, '50 (mechanical engineering). "Gus" Grissom broke in as a World War II air cadet, then went back to school, rejoined in 1950, flew 100 Korean combat missions (D.F.C., two Air Medals). Later he took advanced work in aeronautical engineering at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, became a test pilot, logged up 3,200 flight hours (2,100 in jets). Says he: "My career has been in service to my country, and here is another opportunity to serve."

Donald Kent Slayton, 35, Air Force captain; 160 lbs., 5 ft. 10 1/2 in., blue eyes, brown hair. Lutheran. Born: Sparta, Wis.; graduated University of Minnesota, '49 (aeronautical engineering). Signed on as an aviation cadet in 1942, in World War II bombed Europe (56 missions) and Japan (seven missions), won two Air Medals. Discharged, he went back to school, put in 1 1/2 years as aeronautical engineer for Boeing aircraft. Recalled in 1951, he served in Germany, was picked as a test pilot, recorded 3,400 flight hours (2,000 in jets). Says he: "We have gone about as far as we can on this globe. We have to go somewhere, and space is all that is left." And he adds: "I would give my left arm to be the first man in space."

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