<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Project Gemini was NASA's second human spaceflight program . Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966 . The Gemini spacecraft carried a two - astronaut crew . Ten Gemini crews flew low Earth orbit (LEO) missions during 1965 and 1966, putting the United States in the lead during the Cold War Space Race against the Soviet Union . </P> <P> Gemini's objective was the development of space travel techniques to support the Apollo mission to land astronauts on the Moon . It performed missions long enough for a trip to the Moon and back, perfected working outside the spacecraft with extra-vehicular activity (EVA), and pioneered the orbital maneuvers necessary to achieve space rendezvous and docking . With these new techniques proven by Gemini, Apollo could pursue its prime mission without doing these fundamental exploratory operations . </P> <P> All Gemini flights were launched from Launch Complex 19 (LC - 19) at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station in Florida . Their launch vehicle was the Gemini--Titan II, a modified Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Gemini was the first program to use the newly built Mission Control Center at the Houston Manned Spacecraft Center for flight control . </P>

What was the purpose of the gemini mission