They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow.

What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape — any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that

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Discusses how in the 1950s, black women made critical contributions to NASA by performing calculations that made it possible for the nation's astronauts to fly into space and return safely to Earth.

Mae Jemison is the first African American woman to travel to space. She's also a medical doctor who once joined the Peace Corps. And a trained dancer, too! This biography includes special sections with additional contextual details like secrets of NASA and things women couldn't do in the 1960s and 1970s.

"What's it like to travel among the stars? What can we learn by doing science experiments in space? When Bonnie Dunbar spotted Sputnik traveling across the sky from where she stood on her family's farm, she knew that's what she wanted to do when she got older. In Space Adventurer: Bonnie Dunbar, Astronaut, readers ages 5 to 8 learn about the hard work Bonnie tackled throughout her life to make it aboard NASA's space shuttle Challenger. From planting...

Astronaut Neil Armstrong couldn't be held down by Earth's gravity. As the first person to step foot on the moon, Neil took the US space program to new heights. But before he did that, he had humble boyhood jobs-cutting lawns, cleaning ovens, washing airplanes-and plenty of adventures, including building a wind tunnel in his parents' basement! This playful story shows young readers that not even the sky is the limit for their own dreams.

Profiles four women who have been integral to NASA's space program, helping to develop the Hubble Space Telescope, create computer code to send spacecraft to the moon, and work onboard the space shuttle.

"Biography of Buzz Aldrin for beginner readers"--

This title introduces readers to Neil Armstrong, the great explorer who was the first person to walk on the moon. Armstrong's life story is examined from his childhood to marriage to his studies at Perdue University and service in the US Navy and the Korean War. Armstrong's years at NASA are covered, including the Gemini and Apollo programs, as well as Armstrong's historic mission on Apollo 11 with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Armstrong's later...

Discusses the life of the first African American woman in space, including her childhood, her education in medicine and the sciences, and her lasting legacy.

NASA's Apollo program was the most ambitious human spaceflight mission in history, with its goal of safely landing astronauts on the Moon and returning them safely to Earth. This title will follow each mission, from the tragedy of Apollo 1, to the triumph of Apollo 11 and the final Moon landings of the early 1970s. It will also examine the parallel space exploration efforts of the Soviet Union during this period, and its unsuccessful attempt to beat...