Astronomy
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There's a reason it's called the Final Frontier. We've explored almost all of the land masses of this planet, and we are now slowly moving outward, to the stars. Hopefully, in doing so, we will realize how fragile life is here, and gain a new appreciation of the planet that gave us birth. But, it's time to visit the neighbors...

Planets and Stars:

Spaceflight:

NASA Logo

Pictures:

For Kids and Educators:

Mission Logs:

I have had the honor of meeting four astronauts. They are:

    Gemini VIII patch Apollo 11 patch
  • Neil Armstrong (who was accepting an honorary degree at my college at the time, sometime around 1993) - Gemini VIII (1966), and of course Apollo 11 (Columbia/Eagle, 1969)


    • STS 41-G patch
  • Jon McBride (December 2007 at Kennedy Space Center - Astronaut Encounter, which they have every day) - STS 41-G (Challenger, 1984)
    Your humble author with Jon McBride
    Your author with Jon McBride, December 2007

  • Story Musgrave (September 2012 at WorldCon in Chicago, IL) - six Shuttle missions:
    Your author with Story Musgrave Your author (in Royal Manticoran Navy costume) and a friend with Story Musgrave, September 2012
    STS-6 (Challenger, 1983)
    STS-51F (Challenger, 1985)
    STS-33 (Discovery, 1989)
    STS-44 (Atlantis, 1991)
    STS-61 (Endeavour, 1993)
    STS-80 (Columbia, 1996)


    STS-6 STS-51-F STS-33 STS-44 STS-61 STS-80
    • Apollo 15 patch
  • Al Worden (February 2019 at Kennedy Space Center - Astronaut Encounter, which they have every day) - Apollo 15 (Endeavor/Falcon, 1971)
    Your humble author with Al Worden
    Your author with Al Worden, February 2019


Apollo Command Module Homes:

Of course, the lunar modules never made it home (part left on the surface of the moon, the ascent portion typically crashed back into the moon for moonquake experiments). The command modules are typically on display, throughout the world.

Here is a clever use of Google Maps that shows the locations.

Space Shuttle Homes:

Now that the Space Shuttle program is at an end, the four surviving shuttles are being displayed at various museums.

Podcasts:

Miscellaneous:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. "
-President John F. Kennedy, in a speech before Congress, May 25, 1961

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. "
-President John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1962

That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
- Neil Armstrong, upon stepping out of the Eagle onto the surface of the moon, July 20, 1969




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