John W. Young 1963 Passport | Apollo 16 Moonwalker

The Personal Passport of Apollo 16 Moonwalker John W. Young, 1963:
One of Only 12 Humans Ever to Walk on the Moon

This is an original 1963 U.S. passport issued to NASA astronaut John Watts Young, bearing his full signature, an official government endorsement, and Central American visas acquired during early space-program training. Young is one of only 12 humans in history to have walked on the Moon.

Artemis II has launched, and the world is watching humanity prepare to return to the lunar surface. But the document described here predates all of it. This is primary-source space history in your hands.

This outstanding document is available for sale. Contact Tom Topol for acquisition details.

What This Document Is

This is an official United States passport issued to John Watts Young on April 23, 1963, Passport No. Y156738. It carries his full personal signature and was held in his possession during the years he transitioned from Navy test pilot to NASA astronaut.

The passport includes:

A government endorsement stamped directly into the document confirming he was “abroad on an official assignment for the United States Government.” Entry visas from Panama and Guatemala, corresponding to survival training exercises conducted by early NASA crews. A renewal stamp extending the passport’s validity from 1966 to 1968, bracketing the height of the Gemini program. All remaining pages of the 48-page booklet are unused. Condition is excellent for the document’s age.

This is not a reproduction, a facsimile, or a commemorative item. It is the actual travel document issued to the man who would later command Apollo 16 and pilot the first Space Shuttle mission.

Who Was John Watts Young?

John W. Young is among the most accomplished astronauts in American space history. His career spanned three distinct programs across four decades, a record no other astronaut has matched.

Career at a Glance

Young flew six space missions, more than any astronaut of his era. He is one of only 12 human beings ever to have stood on the lunar surface. He walked on the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission in April 1972. He commanded STS-1, the inaugural flight of the Space Shuttle program, in April 1981. He accumulated 34 days, 19 hours, and 39 minutes in space, including 20 hours and 14 minutes on the Moon’s surface. He served NASA for 42 years before retiring. He died on January 5, 2018, at the age of 87.

For deeper context on Young’s life and spaceflight career, the official NASA biography of John W. Young provides a complete record of his missions and contributions.

Why a 1963 Passport from John Young Is a Significant Artifact

Scarcity: The 12 Moonwalkers

Of the approximately eight billion people alive today, only 12 have ever walked on the Moon. All 12 walked on the lunar surface between July 1969 and December 1972. No human has returned since. The personal documents of those 12 individuals constitute an extraordinarily narrow category of space history collectibles. A signed, government-endorsed passport from one of them, issued years before his Moon landing, is by any measure a rare artifact.

Historical Timing

April 1963 places this document at a formative moment. The Mercury program was winding down. Gemini was being designed. The Apollo missions that would eventually carry Young to the Moon were still years away. This passport captures Young at the threshold of history, before the world knew his name.

Provenance and Condition

The passport is part of the personal research collection assembled by Tom Topol at passport-collector.com, the world’s leading private passport archive. Tom has been featured by CNN, the BBC, and Newsweek, and has received formal recognition from the U.S. Department of State. The document’s condition, signatures, and government endorsements are confirmed authentic.

The Artemis Context: Why This Matters Right Now

NASA’s Artemis program is actively returning humans to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Artemis II is the next crewed lunar mission, sending four astronauts into lunar orbit to test life-support and deep-space systems. Artemis III, planned for a near-South-Pole lunar landing, aims to place the first woman and first person of color on the surface.

By acquiring this passport now, a collector holds a documented bridge between Apollo’s legacy and the next chapter of human lunar exploration. Young’s generation opened that door. Artemis is preparing to walk back through it.

Who Should Consider This Document

This passport is suited to a narrow, serious audience:

Space history collectors focused on primary-source Apollo-era material. Moon landing memorabilia specialists seeking signed, government-endorsed documentation. Museums and exhibit curators building collections around human spaceflight. Serious passport and autograph collectors who understand the convergence of document history and space history in a single object.

If you are researching comparable items, the passport-collector.com archive documents other significant historical passports held and studied by Tom Topol, providing reference context for rarity and condition grading.

Acquisition

This document is available for sale.

For pricing, provenance documentation, and acquisition terms, submit an inquiry to Tom Topol directly via the contact page. Tom also offers free evaluations of historical passports for collectors assessing their own holdings.

 

Tom Topol | Passport Historian & Author
Featured in media incl. CNN, BBC, Newsweek. Awarded by the U.S. Dept. of State
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