The original Mercury astronauts are pictured around a table admiring an Atlas model. Standing, left to right, are Alan B. Shepard Jr., Walter M. Schirra Jr., and John H. Glenn Jr.; sitting, left to right are Virgil I. Grissom, M. Scott Carpenter, Donald Slayton, and L. Gordon Cooper Jr. The Mercury Seven were the group of seven Mercury astronauts announced by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven or Astronaut Group 1. They piloted the manned spaceflights of the Mercury program from May 1961 to May 1963. Members of the group flew on all classes of NASA manned orbital spacecraft of the 20th century - Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle. Of the seven, only John Glenn, who was the oldest, is still living; he went on to become a U.S. senator, and flew on the Shuttle 36 years later to become the oldest person to fly in space. Gus Grissom died in 1967, in the Apollo 1 fire. The others all survived past retirement from service. Photographed July 12, 1962.