Astronaut Day

National Astronaut Day is celebrated on May 5 since 2016 to commemorate the first time an American, Alan Shepard, went to space. From the first-ever space flight to the longest spaceflight by a woman; we have come a long way. In January 1959, NASA began an astronaut selection procedure in response to the space race and Russia’s first victorious launch into space. This included screening the records of 508 military test pilots from which 110 candidates were chosen. At the end of the extremely tough selection process, seven were chosen based on final interviews. They were: L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Scott Carpenter, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, John H. Glenn Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., Walter Schirra Jr., and Donald Slayton. They would go down in history as the Mercury Seven. Among them, Astronaut Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. became the first American to be launched into space on May 5, 1961. The flight lasted 15 minutes and reached a height of 116 miles, which itself was a milestone. National Astronaut Day was created in 2016 by Uniphi Space Agency. It is a talent and marketing division of Uniphi Good LLC, a firm that represents over 20 former NASA astronauts. National Astronaut Day celebrates astronauts as heroes who keep on inspiring us to reach for the stars. It is a tribute to all those brave people who risked their lives to expand mankind’s knowledge
about space exploration and the universe at large. The intent behind National Astronaut Day is to share experiences and stories from astronauts and spark curiosity among young space lovers and motivate them to follow their dreams. Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong takes the first steps on the surface of the moon. Astronaut Alan Shepard Jr. hits a golf ball on the surface of the Moon. U.S. astronaut John Glenn becomes the oldest astronaut to go to space at 77 years of age. Jessica Weir and Christina Koch come out of the International Space Station (ISS) to replace a battery charge/discharge unit. There are many documentaries about space exploration on various OTT platforms. Some of these include “Apollo 11,” “Apollo: Missions to the Moon,” “Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow,” “How the Universe Works,” and “The Universe.” Read memoirs
by astronauts and learn more about space experiences. Here are some great memoirs you should read: “Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space” by Lynn Sherr, “Apollo 13” by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, “Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys” by
Michael Collins, and “Magnificent Desolation” by Buzz Aldrin. Share your favorite astronaut story or space exploration story on social media. Use the NationalAstronautDay and WeBelieveInAstronauts. You can also visit the official website for National Astronaut Day

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