Most Apollo Astronauts Had Tattoos

My Gemini-Rogallo wing tattoo. Pretty sure none of the Apollo astronauts took this one to the Moon! When we think of Apollo astronauts, we think of hot-shot pilots who dared to ride rockets to the Moon! But who, at their core, were straight-laced military men who followed the rules. So it might come as a surprise that most Apollo astronauts had tattoos. This wasn’t something I expected to find. It’s also something that I came across pretty recently. Which in itself was a shock — I’ve spent the better part of my adult life digging into every aspect of the Apollo era. I even named my cat after Apollo 12’s commander Pete Conrad. Fittingly, it was a picture of Pete Conrad that started me down this path.