Read the following stories about inspiring people from different parts of the world who overcame obstacles and became astronauts.
Mae Jemison
By: Allison Podzunas
Mae Jemison is an American astronaut, a crew member of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, and was the first black woman to travel to space.
Astronaut , José Moreno Hernández
By: Abigail Richardson
José Moreno Hernández is an American engineer and former NASA astronaut
JEANETTE EPPS SET TO BECOME FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN ASTRONAUT ON ISS EXPEDITION CREW
By: ELLEN POWELL CSM Staff
Chiaki Mukai
By: Claudia Herrera Hudson
Chiaki Mukai is the first Japanese woman in space and the first Japanese citizen to do two spaceflights.
Judith A. Resnik
By: Alyssa from Ohio
Judith A. Resnik inspired others with her determination to become a scientist and an astronaut.
Sally Kristen Ride
By: Amanda Botts
Sally Ride is an astronaut, physicist, and was the first American woman to travel into space.
Peggy Whitson
By: Alex Gaytan
Peggy Whitson was the first female chief of NASA’s astronaut corps. (2/9/1960)
Mae Jemison
By: Christian Walsh
Mae Jemison
dreamed of going to space since childhood.
Ellen Ochoa
By: Daniel Chavez
As the first Hispanic female astronaut and a co-inventor of three patents, Ellen Ochoa is a shining example of female empowerment.
Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson, born August 26, 1918, was an African American mathematician who worked as an aerospace technologist for NASA and was the first woman in her division to have her name on a report. In 1962, astronaut John Glenn wouldn't begin his orbit around the moon without Johnson first checking all computer calculations by hand: "If she says they're good, then I'm ready to go."
Katherine Johnson
By: Kyra from Ankara, Turkey
Her story was hidden for decades: Katherine Johnson plotted multiple flight courses for NASA, including the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first spaceship to reach the moon.
Katherine Johnson: The Human Computer
By: Jasmine Blossom Martoglio | Batchelor Middle School
This is a documentary about Katherine Johnson and why she is an American hero.
Artwork
Mae C. Jemison Typography
By: Laila Radford
Mae Jemison is an American hero and astronaut. The first Black female astronaut to go to space.
Ride by Lindsay from Victoria, British Columbia
By: Lindsay VanRooyen
This piece is a tribute to my hero Sally Ride and it incorporates references to her career and achievements.
Mae Jemison
By: Saraih from John Muir School
Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to travel in space.
Valentina, First Woman in Space
By: Mariana from the US
Mariana celebrates Valentina, the first woman in space.
Short Films
Bella Gaia VR
Produced by:Kenji Williams
BELLA GAIA is an unprecedented, NASA-powered immersive experience that communicates without words.
I Want to Be an Astronaut [Trailer]
Produced by:Dir. David Ruck
A young man dreams of becoming an astronaut at a time when America currently has no vehicle capable of human space flight.
Cradle to Grave
Producer: Ken Glaser
Travel through time and space in director/songwriter Ken Glaser's music video Cradle to Grave. This computer-animated fantasy is a thought-provoking visual and aural treat.
In Secrets of the Universe, Manuel Calderon de la Barca Sanchez joins a global team working to uncover another amazing breakthrough in this new world of technology-driven physics. Get an inside look at the machine to understand just what it means to do science, working together to solve the universe’s greatest mysteries.
Secrets of the Universe (Trailer)
By: Stephen Low
Travel with scientist Manuel Calderon de la Barca Sanchez as he journeys to the largest machine ever built, the greatest scientific instrument ever created, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
There Were Many Firsts in Space; These Heroes Represent Just a Few!
Valentina Mindoljevic
Producer: Emina Kujundzic and Goran Tiro
Valentina Mindoljevic
is a physics teacher in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina who challenges and inspires her students.
John Glenn
By: Rivers
John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth, and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Guion S. Bluford, Jr.
By: Jonathan from Michigan
Guion S. Bluford Jr. was the first African American in space and the second person of African ancestry.
John Glenn
By: Kathy Crockett
John Glenn
was the first American to orbit the earth.
Astronaut , José Moreno Hernández
By: Abigail Richardson
José Moreno Hernández is an American engineer and former NASA astronaut
Space Stories for Young Readers - by Young Readers
Mae Jemison
By: Chase, Robert, Logan and Kyleigh from Reeds Spring
Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to travel in space.
Sally Ride
By: Georgia Rowan
Sally Ride was the first woman to travel in space.
Listen and read along with this ESL/ELL story about Yuri Gagarin
Neil deGrasse Tyson
By: Daren from Hawesville
Neil deGrasse Tyson
is an astrophysicist, cosmologist and science communicator.
Yuri Gagarin
By: Gleb from Victoria
Yuri Gagarin was the first person to fly into space.
Art
Courageous space explorers are the subject of student artwork
John Glenn
By: Ronan from Westerville
Aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician
Yuri Gagarin's Earth
By: Solbok Yi of Memphis
Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin inspires this student.
Valentina
By: Mariana from the US
Valentina, first woman in space celebrated by Mariana
Chris Hadfield
By: Olivia from Alberta, Canada
"I chose Chris Hadfield because he is a astronaut and I really like space."
These NASA photos and posters illustrate the beauty in Space
Space Shuttle - April 1983
By: NASA
Photo of astronaut in space
Hubble Mosaic of the Majestic Sombrero Galaxy
By: NASA/ESA/Hubble
An amazing image of a galaxy
The Helix Nebula
By: NASA/ESA/Hubble
A Nebula photographed in space
Opposite Hemispheres of Neptune
By: NASA/ESA/Hubble
Neptune beautifully captured and recorded
Visible-Light Image of Jupiter
By: NASA/ESA/Hubble
The abstract beauty of Jupiter's surface photographed
NASA The Grand Tour Poster
By: NASA
NASA celebrates 40 years of voyager exploration.
NASA Voyager Disco Poster
By: NASA
NASA celebrates 40 years of the Voyager Program with free posters.
Voyager Modern Poster Celebrating 40 years
By: NASA
NASA celebrates 40 years of the Voyager Space exploration program.
Stories from the Christian Science Monitor
In with a bang: The James Webb Space Telescope after one year
By: Liam Archacki, CSM Contributor
The James Webb Space Telescope has delivered breathtaking views of our universe.
She overcame bias as a woman in science. Her memoir is testimony.
Credit: Bill Ingalls/Zuma Wire/Newscom/File
Related Pages
JEANETTE EPPS SET TO BECOME FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN ASTRONAUT ON ISS EXPEDITION CREW
By: ELLEN POWELL CSM Staff
World Space Week | Explorers and Scientists
By: Xenia Shin
Space Explorers and Scientists
MY HERO Honors Engineers
By: Becky Miller
Celebrate the contributions of engineers to society and encourage the learning of math, science and technical skills. In the United States, National Engineers Week takes place during the third week of February.
