Last Surviving Apollo 7 Astronaut Dies At 90

The last surviving astronaut from Apollo 7, the first successful crewed space mission in NASA’s Apollo program, died in Houston on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from 1968's Apollo 7 mission, the first successful crewed space mission in NASA’s Apollo program, died at the age of 90 in Houston on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Apollo 7 was an 11-day manned mission in 1968 that tested the ability to dock and rendezvous in space. Apollo 7 was also NASA’s first crewed space mission since the deaths of the three Apollo 1 astronauts in a launch pad fire that happened on Jan. 27, 1967, BBC reported.

Apollo 7 paved the way for the moon landing by Apollo 11 less than a year later.

NASA confirmed Cunningham's death, and said that he was "instrumental to our Moon landing's program success".

"NASA will always remember his contributions to our nation's space program and sends our condolences to the Cunningham family," the space agency's administrator Bill Nelson said.

"We would like to express our immense pride in the life that he lived, and our deep gratitude for the man that he was - a patriot, an explorer, pilot, astronaut, husband, brother, and father," the Cunningham family said in a statement.

"The world has lost another true hero, and we will miss him dearly."

Cunningham, who was born in Creston, Iowa, went on to earn a master's degree in physics from the University of California in Los Angeles. He was one of three astronauts chosen for the first manned spaceflight in the Apollo program, NBC News reported.

Cunningham was one of three astronauts aboard the 1968 Apollo 7 mission that paved the way for the moon landing less than a year later.

Cunningham crewed the mission with Navy Capt. Walter M. Schirra and Donn F. Eisele, an Air Force major. He was the lunar module pilot on the space flight, which launched from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Florida, on Oct. 11 and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean south of Bermuda.

According to NASA, Cunningham, Eisele, and Schirra’ flew a near-perfect mission so well that the agency sent the next crew, Apollo 8, to orbit the moon as a prelude to the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969.

Cunningham is survived by his wife Dot, his sister Cathy Cunningham, and his children Brian and Kimberly.