Fifteen years ago today, at age 77, John Glenn became the oldest man to go into space, as Payload Specialist for space shuttle Discovery.  It had been over 36 years since he had become the first American to orbit the earth  aboard the Mercury Friendship 7 space capsule.  I remember sitting in my aunt’s living room in Salt Lake City listening with excitement to the radio as John Glenn circled the earth.

I have 17 years left before I’ll be 77. Lots of time yet in my life to do great things!

Thirty six years ago this month, I commenced my senior year in college and Voyager 1 was launched. Yesterday’s article in the Washington Post stated, 

The tireless Voyager I spacecraft, launched in the disco era and now more than 11 billion miles from Earth, has become the first man-made object to enter interstellar space.

Instruments on this spacecraft, powered by the radioactive decay of Plutonium 238, are expected to continue operating until 2025 – pumping back information from where no man has gone before.  Pretty cool stuff!

For all you photographers out there, how is this for a great place to be taking photos? Today’s NASA photo of the day:

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 36 flight engineer, uses a digital still camera during a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues on the International Space Station.

What a view of the earth he has!  

Inside the Cupola, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, an Expedition 36 flight engineer, uses a 400mm lens on a digital still camera to photograph a target of opportunity on Earth some 250 miles below him and the International Space Station. Cassidy has been aboard the orbital outpost since late March and will continue his stay into September.

I love this photo of Chris Cassidy, one of our great NASA astronauts, at work.  

 

The NASA web site explains:

Repairing the Station in Orbit Expedition 35 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy (pictured) and Tom Marshburn (out of frame) completed a spacewalk at 2:14 p.m. EDT May 11, 2013 to inspect and replace a pump controller box on the International Space Station’s far port truss (P6) leaking ammonia coolant. The two NASA astronauts began the 5-hour, 30-minute spacewalk at 8:44 a.m.

A leak of ammonia coolant from the area near or at the location of a Pump and Flow Control Subassembly was detected on Thursday, May 9, prompting engineers and flight controllers to begin plans to support the spacewalk. The device contains the mechanical systems that drive the cooling functions for the port truss.

What a thrill it must be for these guys!

In the NASA photo below, Expedition 35 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy has a few light moments with the Robonaut 2 in the Destiny Laboratory onboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station.

Robonaut 2, or R2, is a dexterous humanoid robot built and designed at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Sent to the International Space Station in 2011 with the intention of aiding astronauts on dangerous tasks and freeing them from some the more mundane work, upgrades to the R2 system continue to produce novel advances in the field of robotics. 

IronMan he isn’t, but it’s fun to see advances in robotic technology. And even robots have identity.

This is so cool …from the daily NASA photo stream:

NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, Expedition 34 commander, watches a water bubble float freely between him and the camera, showing his image refracted, in the Unity node of the International Space Station.

Forty years ago today, on December 11, 1972, astronaut Eugene Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 mission, took what must have been an exhilarating drive in the moon rover.   Talk about four-wheeling excitement!

Today’s NASA “Image of the Day” celebrated that significant event with this photo and the accompanying explanation:

Forty years ago today on Dec. 11, 1972, astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, commander, makes a short checkout of the lunar rover during the early part of the first Apollo 17 extravehicular activity at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. This view of the “stripped down” rover is prior to loading up. Equipment later loaded onto the rover included the ground-controlled television assembly, the lunar communications relay unit, hi-gain antenna, low-gain antenna, aft tool pallet, lunar tools and scientific gear.

This photograph was taken by scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot. The mountain in the right background is the east end of South Massif. While astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Lunar Module “Challenger” to explore the moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules “America” in lunar orbit.

The big question:  Will we ever return?