Exploring Space

Space is considered the last great frontier. Since the beginning of time, humans have looked up with wonder at the stars, moon, sun, and vastness of the heavens. This reading set covers some of the “firsts” in space exploration and some passages to encourage your student to wonder about other worlds.

John F. Kennedy: Why the Moon?

On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas. His remarks are a continuation of a promise he made in 1961 to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The promise was kept when on July 20,…

First American Woman in Space: Sally Ride

Sally Ride was the first woman astronaut from the U.S. to go into space. She flew two missions on the space shuttle. One was in August 1983, and the other was in October 1984. Both times she flew as a member of the crew of the space shuttle Challenger. Sally…

Project Mercury: The First Americans in Space

Project Mercury was America’s first human spaceflight program. The project was named after the Roman god of travelers – Mercury. The program began in 1958 and ended in 1963. Project Mercury was an important part of the “Space Race.” The Space Race was a space exploration competition between the United…

The Argument

Blip and Dit-dit were walking to school one day. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the land around them was bright red. It was a beautiful spring day. Blip looked up into the sky and wiggled his long, green antennae. “Just think. We’re walking to school, and up there…

The Mercury 13: Paving the Way for Women in Space

During the early 1960s, there was an important group of American women pilots who dreamed of becoming astronauts. These women were known as the Mercury 13. Though their dreams were never realized, they blazed a trail for future female astronauts. The early 1960s was a key period in the “Space…

Dining in Space

Students take lunch breaks at school every day, and grown-ups take them at their jobs. Almost everyone stops to eat at some point in his or her day, and that includes astronauts. Eating a meal in space takes some extra planning and preparation. Weightlessness raises a special set of concerns…