Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin., Jr., pilot of the Gemini 12 spaceflight, performs standup extravehicular activity during the first day of the 4-day mission in space.
Image: NASA.

In 1966 on this date, Gemini 12 was launched from Cape Canaveral, with astronauts Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and James Lovell aboard. This last flight of the Gemini program tested more rendezvous methods and extravehicular activities (EVAs, or ‘spacewalks’) in preparation for the start of the final push to the Moon: the Apollo program.