People, Businesses, Places & Events
Jack King: The Voice of Apollo
Most people have crushes on astronauts, but I’m smitten by a voice. Jack King has never been to the Moon. He has never had a ticker tape parade. You wouldn’t recognize him if you passed him on the street. But the moment he begins speaking, chances are you’d want a front row seat, because Jack …
Buzz Aldrin: It’s time to colonize the Red Planet
At 84 years of age, Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin still has a lot to say. And with a lifetime of experiences behind him – and ahead of him yet as well – he’s hoping those in power in Washington D.C. and at NASA will listen to his plans to colonize the planet Mars during the next four …
Teams vie for $20 million lunar prize
The race to the Moon is on. However, this race isn’t a pride-filled competition between nations. Now it is several teams consisting of engineers, entrepreneurs, and anyone with a vision, racing to build a moon roving robot – to the tune of $30 million in prizes. The Google Lunar X Prize is a next-generation competition …
Penn State students aim for the Moon
Landing a spacecraft on the Moon is an audacious undertaking, one that has only been accomplished by three nations of the world, the United States, Soviet Russia, and most recently, China. However, in December 2015, that will all change as the Pennsylvania State University’s Lunar Lion team will attempt to go to the Moon and …
Unsung heroes of the Apollo program
For years history has celebrated the crews of elite astronauts who rode fire to the Moon and the unique twelve who walked on its surface. To a lesser degree, the senior mission specialists working in Houston and in Florida were also lauded. But at its height during the Apollo program 400,000 people were involved in …
Learning celestial navigation at Morehead Planetarium
You might not think a visit to a planetarium could save your life, but that’s how at least seven astronauts see the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. Nearly every astronaut in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab programs made multiple visits to Morehead to learn celestial navigation. Each spent at least …