astronaut

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Humans to Mars? 'Stupid' Idea, Says Apollo Astronaut

Bill Anders, now 85, thinks the idea is 'almost ridiculous'

(Newser) - NASA aims to send humans to Mars in the not-too-distant future. One of its more famous former employees thinks it's a dumb idea. "Stupid" is actually the word used by astronaut Bill Anders in an interview with the BBC . The 85-year-old, who went up with Apollo 8 in...

Neil Armstrong's Spacecraft ID Fetches $465K

Memorabilia auction made $7.4M

(Newser) - Memorabilia that belonged to the first man to set foot on the moon has fetched more than $7.4 million at auction. Dallas-based Heritage Auctions says the item that sold for the highest price, $468,500, was Neil Armstrong's spacecraft ID plate from Apollo 11's lunar module Eagle....

Minutes After Launch, Things Go Wrong for Astronauts

US, Russian astronauts survive emergency landing

(Newser) - Two astronauts from the US and Russia are safe after an emergency landing Thursday in the steppes of Kazakhstan following the failure of a Russian booster rocket carrying them to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin lifted off as scheduled early Thursday from the...

For First Time in Decades, Astronaut Quits During Training

Robb Kulin came to NASA from SpaceX

(Newser) - For the first time in 50 years, an astronaut-in-training is quitting NASA. Astronaut candidate Robb Kulin has resigned halfway through his two years of training at Johnson Space Center in Houston. A NASA spokeswoman says his departure is effective Friday and that he is leaving for personal reasons that the...

4th Person to Walk on Moon Dies in Texas at Age 86

Alan Bean also dedicated himself to painting for 40 years

(Newser) - Astronaut Alan Bean, who was the fourth person to walk on the moon, has died. A statement released by NASA and family members says Bean died Saturday in Houston after a short illness, the AP reports. He was 86. Bean was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, which made...

Astronaut Sorry for 'Fake News' on Growth Spurt

He says he grew a lot less than 3.5 inches

(Newser) - Japanese astronaut Norishege Kanai says he is getting taller in space—but not at a rate that will make him too tall to return to Earth in the Soyuz spacecraft. The astronaut has apologized for claiming that he grew 3.5 inches after arriving at the International Space Station in...

Astronaut's Pics of Belgium Are Beautiful—and Bothersome

Country leaves most of its streetlights on all night long, and it's obvious from space

(Newser) - After Thomas Pesquet gets off work and completes his exercise routine, he often whiles away his evenings with his camera, taking pictures he thinks others will enjoy—and those images recently exposed to the entire world the odd obsession Belgium has with leaving its lights on all night long. Pesquet,...

Last Astronaut on the Moon Dead at 82

Gene Cernan spent 3 days on the moon in 1972

(Newser) - Former astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, has died at age 82, the AP reports. NASA announced that Cernan died Monday surrounded by his family. Cernan and Apollo 17 crewmate Harrison Schmitt spent three days on the moon in December 1972. As he followed Schmitt...

John Glenn Was a Hero to US, but His Hero Was His Wife

Annie Glenn suffered for years with stuttering disability until she overcame it

(Newser) - American lost a space pioneer this week with the death of ex-astronaut and Sen. John Glenn at age 95, but Annie Glenn, John's wife, lost a husband of 73 years. The Washington Post tells the story of what many saw as an "odd coupling": While John was gregarious...

First US Astronaut to Orbit Earth Dead at 95

John Glenn had a remarkable life

(Newser) - John Glenn, whose 1962 flight as the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth made him an all-American hero and propelled him to a long career in the US Senate, died Thursday, the AP reports. The last survivor of the original Mercury 7 astronauts was 95. Glenn died at the...

Peggy Whitson Is Breaking Records in Space

Until Thursday, no woman older than 55 had flown in space

(Newser) - The International Space Station gained three new residents Saturday, including the oldest and most experienced woman to orbit the world. A bit of Mars also arrived, courtesy of a Frenchman who brought along a small piece of a Mars meteorite. Launched Thursday from Kazakhstan, the Russian Soyuz capsule docked at...

Ex-NASA Astronaut Faces Murder Charges

2 young girls killed in car wreck involving James Halsell Jr.

(Newser) - A retired NASA astronaut who flew on five space shuttle missions has been charged with murder after an early-morning car crash in Alabama took the lives of two young half-sisters, per AL.com . A 2015 Chrysler allegedly being driven by James Halsell Jr., 59, smashed into a Ford Fiesta at...

Astronaut to Run Marathon in Space

Tim Peake will run along virtually with the London race

(Newser) - A British astronaut will attempt to become the first man to run a marathon in space, sort of. Tim Peake will run a digital version of next year's London Marathon on a treadmill as the International Space Station orbits the Earth, at the same time as more than 37,...

This Woman Just Set a Record in Space

Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is close to being there for 200 days

(Newser) - Nearly 200 days in outer space is what Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will have logged when she touches down in Kazakhstan on Thursday, a feat that has given her the world record for the longest time in space by a woman on a single mission, USA Today reports. On Saturday,...

Astronaut Scott Kelly Begins Historic Mission

He will spend a year in space, longest ever for US

(Newser) - Scott Kelly blasted off on a space mission today that won't end until around this time next year. Kelly will spend 342 days aboard the International Space Station, the longest mission by far ever undertaken by a US astronaut, reports CNN . Kelly was riding up in a Russian rocket...

NASA Emails Wrench to Astronaut

Thanks to the wonders of 3D printing

(Newser) - Butch Wilmore had a common problem—he couldn't find a socket wrench—with an uncommon twist: He's an astronaut on the International Space Station about 270 miles above the nearest hardware store. Solution? NASA emailed him one, in a manner of speaking. As the Guardian reports, NASA's...

13-Year-Old's Plan: Be First on Mars

Alyssa Carson is already giving talks, going on Jeopardy

(Newser) - Alyssa Carson has already given a TEDx talk in Greece, and the 13-year-old is due on Jeopardy this coming week. But these are small achievements compared to her goal since she was 4 years old: to be the first human to set foot on Mars, CNET reports. "NASA takes...

Astronaut Can Watch College Football in Space

Barry Wilmore gets NASA to offer games

(Newser) - Barry Wilmore blasts off for the International Space Station on Sept. 25 for a six-month mission, which is great for him as an astronaut but lousy for him as a college football fan. Solution: NASA has agreed to provide the new SEC network on the ISS so Wilmore can get...

Astronaut Delivering Commencement Speech From Space

UConn alum Rick Mastracchio will address his old school via space station

(Newser) - University of Connecticut alumnus Rick Mastracchio would have liked to deliver this year's graduation address to the school of engineering in person. But he'll be out of town on May 10—orbiting the globe on the International Space Station. So UConn has arranged for the 54-year-old astronaut to...

Astronaut Who Went on Strike in Space Dead at 84
Astronaut Who Went on Strike in Space Dead at 84
obituary
Mar 11, 2014 4:06 PM CDT

Astronaut Who Went on Strike in Space Dead at 84

Bill Pogue wanted more time to enjoy the view and think

(Newser) - Astronaut Bill Pogue has died at age 84, and Space.com notes that he earned his spot in history by serving for nearly 3 months aboard the Skylab space station in the early 1970s. That stint aboard the earth-orbiting outpost earned him and his two crewmates the distinction of the...

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