Astronaut Russell Schweickart, lunar module pilot, stands on the module’s deck during his spacewalk on the fourth day of the Apollo 9 mission. This photograph was taken from inside the lunar module “Spider” by mission commander James McDivitt.
Apollo 9 was the first manned flight of the command/service module along with the lunar module. The mission’s three-person crew, which also included command module pilot Dave Scott, tested several aspects critical to landing on the moon including the lunar module’s engines, backpack life support systems, navigation systems and docking maneuvers. The mission was the second manned launch of a Saturn V rocket and was the third manned mission of the Apollo Program.
After launching on March 3, 1969, the crew spent 10 days in low Earth orbit.Image Credit: NASA/James McDivitt