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Featured Explorers

Adventurers who celebrate the spirit of discovery.

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Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu

Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu was the first Romanian female pilot, who received her license from the International Aeronautical Federation in 1914.

Ellen Ochoa, art by Kendra Melton (http://kmillustration.blogspot.com)

As the first Hispanic female astronaut and a co-inventor of three patents, Ellen Ochoa is a shining example of female empowerment.

Judith A. Resnik

Judith A. Resnik inspired others with her determination to become a scientist and an astronaut.

Bertrand Piccard

Bertrand Piccard has circum-navigated the earth in a balloon.

Tim Peake: Reaching for the Stars

Peake is an ambassador for STEM and was the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station and conduct a spacewalk during his 6 month mission.

Courtesy of NASA

Mae Jemison dreamed of going to space since childhood.

David Livingstone

David Livingstone (http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/images/UGSP00158_m.jpg)

David Livingstone was a medical missionary who explored Africa and spoke out against slavery.

Valentina Tereshkova

Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman and first civilian to fly in space.

John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth, and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Chuck Yeager beside the X-1 nicknamed Glamorous G (aerospaceweb.org)

Chuck Yeager was the first man to break the sound barrier.

NASA [Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space.

James Herman Banning

Public Domain US Air Force (https://www.hill.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2000523879/) via Wikimedia Commons

James Herman Banning was an early African American aviator.

Richard E. Byrd

Richard E. Byrd inspired others with his polar explorations during the Great Depression.

Mae Jemison is an American astronaut, a crew member of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, and was the first black woman to travel to space.

Meriwether Lewis

Charles Willson Peale [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Meriwether Lewis, the complicated partner of William Clark, helped lead the Corps of Discovery across the new nation of the United States of America.

"The key is to see ourselves as a part of the natural systems that support us."

Commander Chris Hadfield

Commander Chris Hadfield is the first Canadian to become the commander of the International Space Station.

James Lovell's problem-solving talents and controlled patience in times of trouble made NASA's mission successful.

Peggy Whitson was the first female chief of NASA’s astronaut corps. (2/9/1960)

Matthew Henson was a brave African-American Arctic explorer, and the co-discoverer of the North Pole.

Amelia Earhart (español)

Amelia Earhart es mi héroe porque ella hizo lo que ninguna otra mujer se había atrevido a hacer. Ella llegó a ser la primera mujer de intentar volar alrededor del mundo. Ella lo hizo más fácil para que otras mujeres en el mundo pudieran hacer las cosas que sólamente los hombres habían hecho anteriormente.

Amelia Earhart was the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic.

Ellison S. Onizuka

Ellison S. Onizuka was an American astronaut and engineer whose legacy continues to live on after the Challenger disaster.

NASA/NASDA photo from Spaceboy.Nasda Photo library

Chiaki Mukai is the first Japanese woman in space and the first Japanese citizen to do two spaceflights.

John Wesley Powell

Public Domain [via The Powell Museum]

John Wesley Powell is an internationally venerated advocate for preserving biodiversity.

Libby Riddles won the Iditarod dog sled race in 1985.

Franklin Chang Diaz

Franklin Chang Diaz is a Costa Rican and American veteran of seven Space Shuttle missions.

Yuri Gagarin was the first human to travel to space.

"In 2017, Whitson broke the record for longest time spent in space clocking in 665 days total."

Jerrie Mock was the first woman to fly solo around the world.

Jacques Cousteau

Jacques Cousteau wanted people to know about the ocean and why he was exploring it.

Bessie Coleman (www.firstflight.org)

Bessie Coleman was the first African-American woman to receive an aviator license.

Christina Conlee

Christina Conlee posing by some artifacts. (https://www.archaeological.org/lecturer/christinaconlee)

Christina Conlee explores the past as an archaeologist in Peru.

Ada Blackjack survived living alone for two years as a castaway on an island north of Siberia.

Svetlana Savitskaya

Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman to walk in space.

Sir Douglas Mawson

Sir Douglas Mawson (www.coolantarctica.com)

"We had discovered an accursed country. We had found the Home of the Blizzard."

Charles Lindbergh: A Hero in the Sky

Charles Lindbergh was a pioneer in aviation and in medicine.

Ranald Macdonald

Ranald Macdonald (http://ferrycountyhs.org/ranaldmacdonald.html)

Ranald Macdonald was curious about Japan and its people in a time when it was not known in the West.

Jedediah Strong Smith

Jed Smith explored the American West and led the way for the early wagon trains.

Fridtjof Nansen

A Portrait of Nansen from:<br>http://www.nb.no/baser/nansen/english.html<p>

Fridtjof Nansen was a daring explorer, a freedom fighter, and a selfless humanitarian.

Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdiand Magellan (http://www.emersonkent.com/<br>history_notes_from_9_1401.htm)

"The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church"

Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary's statue at the Hermitage

Edmund Hillary was a noted explorer who first reached the top of Mt. Everest, along with Tenzing Norgay.

Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr.

Allan Shepard <br>(http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com<br>/images/shepard.jpg)

Alan Shepard was the first American to travel in space and also played golf on the moon.

Sally Kristen Ride

Sally Ride, first US woman in space.

Sir Douglas Mawson

Sir Douglas Mawson led the first research expedition into Antarctica.

Sacajawea guided Lewis and Clark across the northwestern territories.

Roy Chapman Andrews

Roy Chapman Andrews was an explorer and the director of the American Museum of Natural History.

Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Messner (commons.wikimedia.org)

Reinhold Messner is an accomplished mountain climber and author.

Robert Ballard conducts scientific expeditions around the world with students.

Mauricio de Nassau

Maurício de Nassau<br> ( www.pousadapeter.com.br<br>/ indexpernambuco.htm)

Mauricio de Nassau was a famous Dutch explorer.

Marco Polo was a famous explorer to the Far East.

Leif Erikson was the first European to discover America.

Jim Bridger was an explorer and mountain man of the Western U.S.

Jean Batten (ianmackersey.com)

Jean Batten made the first-ever solo flight from England to New Zealand.

Ibn Battutah was a Moroccan Muslim scholar who became one of the greatest world travellers and journalists of all time.

Ernest Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton in 1901 sailed out in the Discovery to explore the Antarctic.

I didn't think it was that big a deal.

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