Kennedy Space Center

The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center (spaceport) on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States. There is a visitor center and public tours and KSC is a major tourist destination for visitors to Florida. Because much of KSC is a restricted area and only nine percent of the land is developed, the site also serves as an important wildlife sanctuary; Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore are also features of this area.The center employs about 15,000 civil servants and contractors.

Apollo 11 and the Moon Landing

Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon, while Collins orbited above. This mission fulfilled John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s, which in his 1961 speech-"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." Upon landing on the Moon Neil Armstrong says his famous quote "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." Once they returned to Earth Richard Nixon welcomed the astronauts back. The Center photo shows from left to right: Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin

John F. Kennedy & The Apollo Program

On May 25, 1961, Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program as part of a special address to a joint session of Congress.Quote of his speech-"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." At the time of Kennedy's speech, only one American had flown in space. Some NASA employees doubted whether Kennedy's ambitious goal could be met. Answering President Kennedy's challenge and landing men on the moon by the end of 1969 required the most sudden burst of technological creativity, and the largest commitment of resources ($25 billion), ever made by any nation in peacetime. At its peak, the Apollo program employed 400,000 Americans and required the support of over 20,000 industrial firms and universities.

Apollo 1

The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. Apollo 1 ended tragically when all the astronauts inside died due to fire in command module during an experimental simulation. Because of this incident, there were a few unmanned tests before men boarded the spacecraft. Apollo's command module (CM-012) was destroyed by fire during a test and training exercise on January 27, 1967 at Pad 34. The crew onboard were the astronauts selected for the first manned Apollo program mission: Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee. All three died in the fire. The crew's picture is on the right. Left to right: Grissom, White, Chaffee

Boom De Yada

The Space Race

The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union & the United States. It lasted roughly from 1957 to 1975.It involved the efforts to explore outer space with satellites, to send humans into space, and to land people on the Moon. The Space Race began after the Soviet launch of Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957. Sputnik 1 was the size of a large beach ball & weighed more than 80 kg and orbited the Earth for more than two months. Nearly four months after the launch of Sputnik 1, the United States launched its first satellite, Explorer 1. In the meantime, several embarrassing launch failures had occurred at Cape Canaveral.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA was established on July 29, 1958. Meaning its 50th anniversary is about a month away (41 days). NASA's motto is: "For the benefit of all". The motto of NASA's Office of Education is: Shaping the Future: Launching New Endeavors to Inspire the Next Generation of Explorers.

Origins of Life

London (UK) - Scientists from the Imperial College of London claim to have found evidence that life on our planet did not originate from Earth itself. For the first time, the scientists say, it is confirmed that an important component of early genetic material found in meteorite fragments is of extraterrestrial origin.
We had a lot of space and alien stories lately, with one particular interesting making even the Larry King show. But any of that material could be considered insignificant, if Zita Martins’ claims, a research associate at the Department of Earth Science and Engineering of the Imperial College, are in fact correct. According to the researcher, at least parts of the raw material that are believed to have been required to create the first molecules of DNA and RNA may be of extraterrestrial origin.
Martins and her colleagues said they discovered uracil and xanthine, which are precursors to the molecules that make up DNA and RNA and are known as nucleobases in rock fragments of the Murchison meteorite, which crashed in Australia in 1969. She explained that "early life may have adopted nucleobases from meteoritic fragments for use in genetic coding which enabled them to pass on their successful features to subsequent generations."
Apparently, the researchers were successful in proving that the molecules came from space and were not a result of contamination when the meteorite landed on Earth. What supports Martins claims is the fact that meteor showers are believed to have been common several billions of years ago on Earth: "Between 3.8 to 4.5 billion years ago large numbers of rocks similar to the Murchison meteorite rained down on Earth at the time when primitive life was forming," the press release from the Imperial College reads. "The heavy bombardment would have dropped large amounts of meteorite material to the surface on planets like Earth and Mars."
Mark Sephton, also of Imperial’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering, believes this research is an important step in understanding how early life might have evolved. "Because meteorites represent left over materials from the formation of the solar system, the key components for life - including nucleobases - could be widespread in the cosmos," he said. "As more and more of life’s raw materials are discovered in objects from space, the possibility of life springing forth wherever the right chemistry is present becomes more likely."

The findings are published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters