Most of us will long remember the practice of social distancing to help slow the spread of COVID-19. But it’s also worth rewinding the clock 55 years to recount an even more extreme example of this practice —the flight of Gemini 7. Paradoxically, this NASA mission not only forced a pair of astronauts into extremely close quarters, it also required they practice social distancing at astronomical scales.
The mid-1960s were the very height of the Cold War. And one of the most publicized aspects of this conflict was the space race. NASA was in overdrive, trying to make progress on its own space efforts. But at the same time, NASA was attempting to leapfrog the Soviets, who had already made great strides in manned spaceflight.
This forced them to focus on the next major spaceflight milestone: the Moon.
