When he applied to NASA a second time in 1963, Aldrin won a spot and became the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. Pyle says that Deke Slayton, who was in charge of scheduling astronauts for NASA at the time, swore that it was simply the “luck of the draw” that Aldrin and Armstrong were picked for Apollo 11 and that Armstrong was the first to step foot on the lunar soil. For more information about space food and how astronauts eat in space, visit our related resources on the next page. Aldrin spent more than five hours conducting space walks on the Gemini 12 mission. Born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. in Montclair, New Jersey, Aldrin earned his famous nickname from his little sister Fay Ann who called him “buzzer” instead of brother (he legally changed it to “Buzz” in the early ’80s). Who better than Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 hero, to make the case for mankind’s return to the moon and beyond? In a bit of poetic foreshadowing, Aldrin’s mother’s name was Marion Moon. The announcement came a little more than one week after a presidential commission released a report outlining several improvements NASA needs to make to achieve President Bush’s goal of sending humans back to the moon and onward to Mars in 30 years.

However, although countries raced to build hypersonic, intercontinental ballistic missiles (and hypersonic missile interceptors), we are still many years away from civilians traveling at the speed of sound. In the years following the storm, Florida has made significant strides in improving hurricane preparedness and response efforts. Additionally, understanding the unique features of each hurricane or tropical storm, such as the potential for rapid intensification, is essential for making informed decisions regarding evacuation and other preparations. The lessons learned from Charley have informed the development of more effective evacuation plans, more accurate forecasting, and ongoing investment in infrastructure improvements to better withstand the forces of hurricanes. However it has lately seen a resurgence thanks to some incredible projects that have helped spark even more curiosity in NASA missions and the deepest reaches of space that they’re peering out into. He moved around the ship effortlessly thanks to special handholds and foot restraints that Aldrin himself designed. Aldrin was a straight-A student and a stellar athlete, graduating one year early from high school.

He knew that one of the biggest engineering unknowns of spaceflight was how to dock with another vehicle in orbit, so Buzz decided to become an expert in it. At one point, he was actually selling used cars to make ends meet. At this point, flight computers fly the orbiter. More intangibly but no less importantly, in the words of John Becker, the X-15 project led to “the acquisition of new piloted aerospace flight ‘know how’ by many teams in government and industry. Google uses a low-cost distributed method of computing that while currently effective, will eventually need to become more like the supercomputers employed by NASA, he said. These actions helped to ensure the safety of those in the path of the storm and facilitated a more effective response to the disaster. The Cycler is a cross between a space station and a spacecraft that continuously orbits the sun in a path that periodically intersects both the Earth and Mars.

NASA Dock Plus is a groundbreaking docking station developed by NASA that aims to simplify spacecraft docking procedures and increase efficiency during missions. Here’s a collection of NASA sounds from historic spaceflights and current missions. Tonight, during prime time, the Smithsonian Channel will feature a short about the NASA technology featured in the film. “As it grows and we share content, this will grow and people will start to leverage the functionality,” he said. The new NASA G-SHOCK will retail for $130 and is available for purchase starting today. Hypersonic speed may sound futuristic, but the technology is in use today. What Is Hypersonic Speed? Sound has a speed of Mach 1 and anything Mach 5 or above is considered hypersonic. The X-43A requires a booster rocket to get it up to a hypersonic speed, at which point it is released and sent flying on its own. Can I still get an internship at NASA? Aldrin isn’t just a rocket “booster”; he’s very much still an engineer and adventurer at heart. Not to be deterred, Aldrin figured out another way to become an astronaut. Space historian and author Rod Pyle has met and interviewed Aldrin a number of times and never ceases to be amazed by the 89-year-old astronaut’s active engagement with the future of spaceflight, from grooming the next generation of astronauts to designing the technology to shuttle humans to Mars.