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Space Exploration - Topics

Space exploration, one of the greatest technological achievements in human history, includes the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger, and people like Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong, Commander of NASA's Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, photographed at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas, July 1969.

Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) was a U.S. astronaut who became the first human to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin inside the Apollo 11 prior to the lunar landing on July 20, 1969. (Credit: NASA)

Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon during NASA’s 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Beyond that historic moment, Aldrin played a critical behind-the-scenes role in solving some of the thorniest challenges of manned space flight.

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Apollo 11

1969 Moon Landing

JFK’s Pledge Leads to Start of Apollo Program The American effort to send astronauts to the moon had its origins in an appeal President Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing […]

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3:45 minTV-PG

Space: JFK’s New Frontier

President Kennedy establishes his New Frontier with a challenge to venture into outer space. John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth, one step in America’s endeavor to land on the moon.

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HISTORY: Apollo 13

Apollo 13

Apollo 13’s Mission On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. On board were astronauts James Lovell, John “Jack” Swigert and Fred Haise. Their mission was to reach the Fra Mauro highlands of the moon and explore the Imbrium Basin, conducting geological experiments along the way. WATCH: Apollo 13: Modern Marvels on […]

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Pilot Michael Collins adjusts the helmet of his space suit in the Ready Room at Cape Kennedy in Florida, before NASA's Gemini 10 mission, July 1966. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

Michael Collins

Military Career Born in Italy, on October 31, 1930, where his father, United States Army Major General James Lawton Collins, was stationed. After the United States entered World War II, the family moved to Washington, D.C. where Collins attended St. Albans School. During this time, he applied and was accepted to West Point Military Academy […]

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Debris from the space shuttle Columbia streaks across the Texas sky as seen from Dallas. (Credit: Jason Hutchinson/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

Space Shuttle Columbia Launch The Columbia’s 28th space mission, designated STS-107, was originally scheduled to launch on January 11, 2001, but was delayed numerous times for a variety of reasons over nearly two years. Columbia finally launched on January 16, 2003, with a crew of seven. Eighty seconds into the launch, a piece of foam […]

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