September 14, 2020 - Exploring Outer and Inner Space

Exploring Outer and Inner Space  Edgar Mitchell, born 90 years ago this week, joined the Navy in 1952 to become a naval aviator, but when the launch of Sputnik heralded the start of the Space Age, Mitchell decided that spaceflight was his calling. His extensive flight experience (over 5,000 hours) helped him be selected as an astronaut in 1966. As Lunar Module Pilot for the 1971 Apollo 14 mission, Mitchell became the sixth human to walk on the Moon. In this image, taken by his crewmate Alan Shepard, Mitchell is seen traversing the Fra Mauro region, where the astronauts conducted over nine hours of surface exploration. Mitchell, moved by his spaceflight experience, co-founded a non-profit organization in 1973 for the study of consciousness and paranormal activity. Mitchell died in 2016.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

Weekly Calendar

September 14 - 20, 2020

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 14

Venus 4° south of Moon

1966: Gemini XI, docked with Agena booster rocket, reaches 850-mile-high orbit

Tuesday 15

1965: “Lost in Space” premieres
1968: Zond 5 launched, first circumlunar spaceflight with living creatures (tortoises)
2016: Tiangong-2 space station launched
2017: Cassini mission ends with planned entry into Saturn’s atmosphere

Wednesday 16

1848: First observation of Hyperion, moon of Saturn
1996: STS-79 Atlantis launched

Thursday 17

New Moon 7:00 AM ET

1789: William Herschel discovers Mimas
1857: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky born
1930: Ed Mitchell born
1959: First powered flight of X-15
1976: First rollout of space shuttle Enterprise

Friday 18

Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset

Moon at perigee
Mercury 6° south of Moon

1964: Saturn SA-7 launched
1977: Voyager 1 takes photo of Earth and Moon together in space
2006: Anousheh Ansari becomes first woman space tourist
2013: Cygnus 1 supply ship launched to ISS

Saturday 19

Sunday 20

1945: Wernher von Braun arrives in United States
1966: Surveyor 2 launched
1970: Luna 16 lands on Moon
1979: HEAO-3 launched
1988: Israel launches its first satellite