Star Wars Outtakes

Actually, this is a 1964 photo taken in the Nevada desert.  Pictured are, from left to right, astronauts Frank Borman, Neil Armstrong, John Young and Deke Slayton.  They are modeling parachute silks and look like the inspiration for the Jedi Knights.

  Frank Borman was the commander of the Apollo 8 mission which was the first to orbit the moon and transmitted back the dramatic photos of the Earth.

You all know Neil Armstrong.

John Young was the first person to make six spaceflights, including commanding a Gemini mission, landing on the moon during the Apollo program and piloting the first Space Shuttle flight.

Deke Slayton was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts (of "The Right Stuff "fame) but was grounded in 1962 by a heart murmur.  He went on to become NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations, selecting the crews for each mission, including the first landing on the moon.  He was finally cleared for space operations and in 1975 was the docking module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.