Smithsonian Snapshot
Bells from Gemini VI
Eric Long, Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
Bells, Gemini VI, 1965
These bells are part of the harmonica and bell set carried by astronauts Walter "Wally" Schirra and Tom Stafford aboard Gemini VI in December 1965.
The Gemini’s mission was to test its docking and maneuvering capability.
About five hours after its rendezvous with Gemini VII and the successful maneuvering of the two spacecraft to within 6 inches of each other, astronauts Schirra and Stafford played "Jingle Bells" with these bells.