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One of the signs accompanying the spacecraft. It reads

Training on Earth

Each of the Mercury 7 astronauts went through a long and difficult training program on Earth to get ready for their mission in space. To prepare for the extreme physical demands of space travel, the astronauts were put through several difficult training exercises.

• To practice controlling a spinning spacecraft, the astronauts were secured in three interlocked spinning metal cages called the Multiple-Axis Space Test Inertial Facility (MASTIF), which simulated the types of movements they might encounter during their flight.
• To learn breathing techniques and muscle contractions necessary to help them counteract the effects of a g-forces on the body, the astronauts were put into a giant human centrifuge able to spin them around and speed up so quickly it could simulate the huge g-forces of launch and reentry.
• To prepare for the microgravity of space, the astronauts trained in a special airplane (lovingly nicknamed the "vomit comet") that flew in an arc-like pattern at high speeds and would give about 25 seconds of weightlessness at a time.