Hottest Male Astronauts in NASA History

Jerry Michael Linenger, born January 16, 1955, is a retired Captain in the United States Navy Medical Corps. He flew on the Space Shuttle and Space Station Mir as a former NASA astronaut.

Eugene Andrew Cernan (March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. Cernan became the eleventh person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission. He was the last person to walk on the Moon after re-entering the Apollo Lunar Module after Harrison Schmitt on their third and final lunar excursion. Cernan traveled into space three times: as pilot of Gemini 9A in June 1966, as lunar module pilot of Apollo 10 in May 1969, and as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Brent Ward Jett Jr., born October 5, 1958, is a retired American naval officer and aviator. He is also a test pilot, an aerospace and aeronautical engineer, and a NASA astronaut.

David Randolph Scott, born June 6, 1932, is a retired test pilot and NASA astronaut. Scott was the seventh person to walk on the Moon. He commanded Apollo 15. The third group was selected for astronaut selection in 1963. Scott flew three times in space. He remains the only living commander of an Apollo mission that landed on the Moon and one of four surviving Moon walkers. Before becoming an astronaut, Scott graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and joined the Air Force. He served as a fighter pilot in Europe before graduating from the Air Force.

John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American test pilot, mechanical and aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and NASA astronaut. Swigert was one of twenty-four astronauts who flew to the Moon. Before joining NASA in 1966, Swigert was a civilian test pilot and fighter pilot in the Air National Guard. After leaving NASA, he was elected to Congress from Colorado's new 6th district but died before being sworn in.

Neil Armstrong was born August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Armstrong developed a deep fascination for aviation as a child. This passion led him to earn his student pilot's license before driving a car. He honed his skills as a pilot while earning an aeronautical engineering degree from Purdue University. After that, he served in the Korean War as a naval aviator, flying 78 combat missions. Armstrong's space journey began when he...

Fred Wallace Haise Jr. (HAYZ), born November 14, 1933, was an American NASA astronaut and fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force. He served as a test pilot. Haise is one of only 24 people who flew to the Moon. He flew as the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 13. The Apollo 13 mission stopped before a lunar landing; Haise was scheduled to be the sixth person to land and walk on the Moon. He flew Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests in 1977. Haise retired from NASA in 1979.

Michael Timothy "Bueno" Good, born October 13, 1962, is a retired NASA astronaut and a retired Colonel in the United States Air Force. Good flew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis for STS-125. STS-125 was the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Good flew as Mission Specialist 2 on STS-132.

Roger Bruce Chaffee (February 15, 1935 – January 27, 1967) was an American naval officer, aviator, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut in the Apollo program. Chaffee was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he became an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Central High School in 1953. Chaffee accepted a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship. He started college at Illinois Institute of Technology, joining the fraternity Phi Kappa Sigma. He moved to Purdue University in 1954, continuing his involvement in Phi Kappa Sigma and obtaining his

Guion Stewart Bluford Jr., Ph.D. (born November 22, 1942), is an American aerospace engineer, retired U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut. He is the first African American and the second person of African descent to go to space. He was an officer in the U.S. Air Force, staying there while assigned to NASA, and rose to colonel. Bluford participated in four Space Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992. In 1983, as a crew member on the Orbiter Challenger for mission STS-8, he became the first African.

Kenneth Todd "Hock" Ham, born December 12, 1964, is a retired American astronaut and a captain in the United States Navy. NASA selected Ham for its astronaut program in August 1998 while serving as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet lead carrier suitability test pilot. Ham's call sign is "Hock". As of July 2013, Captain Ham chaired the Aerospace Engineering Department at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Captain Ham worked for Bigelow Aerospace in North Las Vegas starting August 2014.

James Donald "Wxb" Wetherbee, born November 27, 1952, is an American former naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA astronaut. Wetherbee is a veteran of six Space Shuttle missions. He is the only American to command five spaceflight missions.

Richard Alan Searfoss (June 5, 1956 – September 29, 2018) was an American aviator. He served as a United States Air Force colonel, a NASA astronaut, and a test pilot.

Scott Douglas "Scooter" Altman (born August 15, 1959) is a retired United States Navy Captain, engineer, test pilot, and former NASA astronaut. He served on four Space Shuttle missions. His fourth mission, STS-125, was the final servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope.

Donn Fulton Eisele (June 23, 1930 – December 2, 1987), a Colonel in the USAF, was a United States Air Force officer, test pilot, and later a NASA astronaut. He piloted the command module seat during the Apollo 7 flight in 1968. After leaving NASA and the Air Force, he directed the Peace Corps in Thailand, then moved into private business.

William Alison Anders (October 17, 1933 – June 7, 2024) was an American United States Air Force (USAF) major general, electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, as an Apollo 8 crew member, he was one of the first three people to leave low Earth orbit and travel to the Moon. Anders circled the Moon ten times with Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, broadcasting live images and commentary. During one lunar orbit, he photographed the Earthrise image.

Pierre Joseph Thuot (born May 19, 1955) is a retired United States Navy Captain and NASA astronaut. He flew space three times, spending over 650 hours in space, including more than 15 hours in three space walks. He holds the U.S. record for time spent on one space walk and took part in the first three-person space walk.

Dale Allan Gardner (November 8, 1948 – February 19, 2014) was a NASA astronaut. He flew two Space Shuttle missions during the early 1980s.

Kevin Patrick "Chilli" Chilton, born November 3, 1954, is an American mechanical engineer. He served as a four-star General and test pilot in the United States Air Force. Chilton's final post was Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, from October 3, 2007, to January 28, 2011. Before becoming a general officer, Chilton spent 11 years in the military as a NASA astronaut. He retired from the Air Force on February 1, 2011, holding the highest rank for any military astronaut. On January 30, 2012, General Chilton joined the board of directors for Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Brewster Hopkinson Shaw Jr., born May 16, 1945, was a NASA astronaut. He retired as a U.S. Air Force Colonel and held an executive role at Boeing. The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame inducted Shaw on May 6, 2006. Shaw piloted the Space Shuttle Columbia in November 1983. He commanded Space Shuttle Atlantis in November 1985. He also commanded Columbia in August 1989. After the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986, Shaw supported the Roger's Presidential Commission investigating the accident.

Theodore Cordy "Ted" Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964) was an American aeronautical engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. NASA selected him in the third group of astronauts in 1963. He died a year later in a T-38 jet crash, becoming the first fatality in the NASA Astronaut Corps. He held the rank of captain at the time of his death.

Stephen Douglas Thorne (February 11, 1953 – May 24, 1986), Lt Cmdr, USN, was an American naval officer, aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut candidate. Thorne was born February 11, 1953, in Frankfurt, West Germany. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975. Thorne flew a Navy fighter jet from 1976 until he became a test pilot in 1981. NASA accepted him for astronaut training in June 1985. He died in an airplane accident on May 24, 1986, while a passenger. His wife was Sue Lotz of Staunton, Virginia. Thorne liked baseball, running, reading, and g.

Charles Arthur "Charlie" Bassett II, Major, USAF (December 30, 1931 – February 28, 1966), was an American electrical engineer and United States Air Force test pilot. Bassett attended Ohio State University for two years before graduating from Texas Tech University. He joined the air force as a pilot. Bassett graduated from the Aerospace Research Pilot School and the Air Force's Experimental Test Pilot School. NASA selected Bassett as an astronaut in 1963 and assigned him to Gemini 9. He died in an airplane crash during training for his first spaceflight.

Brian Duffy, born June 20, 1953, in Boston, Massachusetts, is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. Duffy flew aboard four Space Shuttle missions.

Donald Ray McMonagle (born May 14, 1952), Col, USAF, Ret., was a former astronaut and flew three shuttle flights. McMonagle became the Manager, Launch Integration at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 15, 1997. In this role, he managed final shuttle preparation, launch execution, and returning the orbiter to KSC after landings elsewhere. McMonagle chaired the Mission Management Team and held final authority for launch decisions.

William Harvey "Bill" Dana (November 3, 1930 – May 6, 2014) was an American aeronautical engineer. He served as a U.S. Air Force pilot, NASA test pilot, and astronaut. Dana flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane shared by the Air Force and NASA, as one of twelve pilots. Dana also joined the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. Dana flew the X-15 above 50 miles on two flights. This earned him astronaut status by the United States definition of space. Neither flight crossed the Kármán line, the international boundary.

Duane Edgar Graveline (March 2, 1931 – September 5, 2016) was an American physician and NASA astronaut. In 1965, he was one of six scientists selected for the Apollo program, joining NASA's fourth astronaut group. Graveline became known for spending seven days in water during zero gravity deconditioning research as a United States Air Force (USAF) research scientist.

Lloyd Blaine Hammond Jr. (born January 16, 1952) is a Gulfstream test pilot, a former United States Air Force officer, and a former NASA astronaut. Hammond flew two Space Shuttle missions.

Fernando "Frank" Caldeiro (June 12, 1958 – October 3, 2009) is an Argentine-born American scientist and a NASA astronaut.

Joseph Richard "Joe" Tanner (born January 21, 1950) is an American instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder, mechanical engineer, a former naval officer and aviator, and a former NASA astronaut. Tanner was born in Danville, Illinois. Tanner is unlike other astronauts; he lacked a background in flight test and did not earn advanced academic degrees. Usually, those without military flight test experience have an M.D., Ph.D., or master's degree. Tanner followed operational military flying, then NASA operational jet training before becoming an astronaut.

Charles Owen "Scorch" Hobaugh (born November 5, 1961, in Bar Harbor, Maine) is a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer. Hobaugh completed three spaceflights. All three missions were Space Shuttle flights to the International Space Station, lasting ten to thirteen days. NASA selected Hobaugh as an astronaut in 1996. His first flight was STS-104 in July 2001. He was the Pilot of Space Shuttle Atlantis for that mission. Hobaugh's most recent flight occurred in November 2009.

John Howard Casper (born July 9, 1943) is an American astronaut and United States Air Force pilot.

Colonel Gary Eugene Payton, USAF (born June 20, 1948), is an American astronaut who worked as a payload specialist for NASA. Payton flew on the STS-51-C mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in January 1985. This mission launched and returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. STS-51C was the first Space Shuttle Department of Defense mission. Payton traveled over 1.2 million miles in 48 Earth orbits and logged more than 73 hours in space. He now serves as Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Schriever Chair in Astronautics at the United States Air Force Academy, teaching.

Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was an American World War II pilot, aeronautical engineer, and test pilot. He became one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. Slayton became NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut Office and Director of Flight Crew Operations, managing NASA crew assignments. Slayton joined the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, flying in Europe and the Pacific. He left the Army after WWII. Later, he joined the Minnesota Air National Guard after working for Boeing as an aeronautical engineer.

Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. (June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999), a Captain in the USN, was an American NASA astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer, aviator, and test pilot. During the Apollo 12 mission, Conrad became the third man to walk on the Moon. Conrad was selected in NASA's second astronaut class. He set an eight-day space endurance record with Command Pilot Gordon Cooper on the Gemini 5 mission. Conrad also commanded the Gemini 11 mission. After Apollo, he commanded Skylab 2, the first crewed.

Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) was an American engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. See received an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1945. He graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree in marine engineering and a United States Navy Reserve commission. See joined the Aircraft Gas Turbine Division of General Electric as an engineer. See served in active duty as a naval aviator during the Korean War, flying Grumman F9F Panther fighters with Fighter Squadron 144 (VF-144) from the aircraft carrier USS Randolph.

Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, and United States Air Force pilot. He was the youngest of the seven original astronauts for Project Mercury, the U.S.'s first manned space program. Cooper learned to fly as a child. After serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, he joined the United States Air Force in 1949. Cooper became a fighter pilot. He qualified as a test pilot in 1956. NASA selected him as an astronaut in 1959. Cooper piloted the longest and final Mercury mission in 1963.

Frank Curtis "Curt" Michel, Ph.D. (June 5, 1934 – February 26, 2015), was an American astrophysicist. He taught astrophysics at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Frank Michel served as a former United States Air Force pilot and a NASA astronaut.

Michael Collins (October 31, 1930 – April 28, 2021) was a former American astronaut, test pilot, and major general of the United States Air Force Reserves. Selected in 1963, he flew into space twice. Collins' first spaceflight was Gemini 10. There, he and Command Pilot John Young performed orbital rendezvous with two spacecraft and completed two extravehicular activities (EVAs). Collins' second spaceflight was as the command module pilot for Apollo 11. Collins is one of 24 people who flew to the Moon.

Michael Lloyd Coats (born January 16, 1946) is a former NASA astronaut who completed three spaceflights. Coats grew up in Riverside, California. From December 2005 to December 2012, he directed the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Frank Frederick Borman II (March 14, 1928 - November 7, 2023) was an American retired United States Air Force (USAF) colonel, aeronautical engineer, NASA astronaut, test pilot, and businessman. Borman commanded Apollo 8, the first mission around the Moon. Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders became the first of 24 humans to do this, earning Borman the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Russell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart, born October 25, 1935, is an American aeronautical engineer. He was a former NASA astronaut, research scientist, U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, business executive, and government executive. NASA selected Schweickart in 1963 for its third astronaut group. Schweickart piloted the Lunar Module on the 1969 Apollo 9 mission. This flight tested the lunar module for the first time. He performed the first in-space test of the portable life support system used by Apollo astronauts walking on the Moon. He served as backup Commander of the fir

Walter Marty Schirra Jr. (March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007), Captain (USN, Ret.), was an American naval aviator and NASA astronaut. Schirra became one of the original seven astronauts for Project Mercury in 1959, the United States' first human space effort. On October 3, 1962, he flew the six-orbit, nine-hour, Mercury-Atlas 8 mission in a spacecraft he named Sigma 7. During his mission in Sigma 7, Schirra became the fifth American and ninth human to travel into space. In the two-man Gemini program, he achieved the first space rendezvous and station-keeping.

Rear Admiral Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the first American to travel into space. He walked on the Moon in 1971. Shepard graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Shepard saw action with the surface navy during World War II. Shepard became a naval aviator in 1946 and a test pilot in 1950. NASA selected him as one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959. In May 1961, Shepard made the first crewed Project Mercury flight, MR-3, in a spacecraft he named Fre.

Malcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013), Commander of the USN, was an American naval officer and aviator. Carpenter was a test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. Carpenter was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959. Carpenter was the second American to orbit the Earth after John Glenn. Carpenter was the fourth American in space, following Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and Glenn. Carpenter joined the U.S. Navy in 1949. Carpenter became a naval aviator, flying a Lockheed P-2 Neptune with Patrol Squadron 6 (VP-6) for reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare.

James Alton McDivitt (born June 10, 1929), Brigadier General, USAF, Ret., is an American former test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut. McDivitt flew in the Gemini and Apollo programs. He commanded the Gemini 4 flight, where Ed White performed the first U.S. spacewalk. McDivitt also commanded the Apollo 9 flight, which tested the Lunar Module and the complete set of Apollo flight hardware. McDivitt became Manager of Lunar Landing Operations and the Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager from 1969 to 1972.

Ronnie Walter Cunningham (born March 16, 1932), Colonel, USMCR, Ret., is a retired American astronaut. In 1968, he was a Lunar Module Pilot on the Apollo 7 mission. Cunningham was NASA's third civilian astronaut, after Neil Armstrong and Elliot See. Cunningham also served as a fighter pilot, physicist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author of The All-American Boys.

Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was one of the seven original National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Project Mercury astronauts. Grissom was the first of the Mercury Seven to die. Grissom also flew in the Project Gemini and Apollo programs. Grissom was the second American to fly in space. Grissom was the first member of the NASA Astronaut Corps to fly in space twice. Grissom was a World War II and Korean War veteran. Grissom served as a U.S. Air Force test pilot and a mechanical engineer. Grissom received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with an oak leaf.

John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) served as a Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He became the first American to orbit Earth, circling it three times in 1962. After leaving NASA, he served as a Democratic United States Senator from Ohio from 1974 to 1999. In 1998, he flew into space again at age 77. Before NASA, Glenn was a fighter pilot in World War II, China, and Korea. He shot down three MiG-15s. He earned six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals. In 1957, he mad

Joe Henry Engle (born August 26, 1932), Maj Gen USAF (Ret.), is an American pilot, aeronautical engineer, and former NASA astronaut. Engle commanded two Space Shuttle missions, including STS-2, the program's second orbital flight. He also participated in the Shuttle program's Approach and Landing Tests. Engle is one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane run by the Air Force and NASA. As an X-15 pilot, Engle made three flights above 50 miles, qualifying for astronaut wings by the American convention for the space boundary. In 19