2-860-714 - Heritage Space/Heritage Images

Gemini VI recovery, Atlantic Ocean, December 16, 1965. A helicopter hovers over the Gemini VI spacecraft after it splashed down 12 miles from the aircraft carrier USS Wasp in the western Atlantic recovery area at 10:29 a.m. Before re-entry, astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra played a prank on Mission Control by singing 'Jingle Bells'. It was the first song ever performed in outer space. The green dye in the water helps location of the spacecraft from the air.