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Snoopy is answering the age old question: What do you do after you fly to the moon? Having recently returned from his trip on Artemis I, the world famous astronaut has landed in "To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA," a new exhibit now open at Knott's Berry Farm in southern California. Part of Knott's Peanuts Celebration, "To the Moon" showcases Snoopy's history with the space agency and offers a photo op with the spacesuited beagle.
The 2023 class of U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees has been announced! Roy Bridges, who flew into space in 1985 and later served as director of two NASA centers, and Senator Mark Kelly, who launched four times to the International Space Station including as commander for the final flight of space shuttle Endeavour, will be enshrined at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex during an induction ceremony on May 6.
Joe Acaba is the new chief astronaut at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. In his new role, Acaba will help assign crew members to missions, including the first astronauts to fly to the moon in more than 50 years. He will also manage the corps' activities in-between flights and coordinate their work with international partners. Acaba is the 18th astronaut to lead the office and the first person of Hispanic heritage to be selected as chief.
It seems that regardless of where you travel today, you can see people wearing t-shirts, ball caps and other apparel emblazoned with the NASA logo. Now, ESA (European Space Agency) wants a piece of that action. The intergovernmental organization has made its merchandising process easier in an effort to increase its general visibility in Europe. The ESA Brand Center has all that is needed to add ESA's logo and patches to products.
Apollo 7 pilot Walt Cunningham was memorialized on Tuesday (Jan. 24), at a funeral service held in Houston. A panel of fellow astronauts who knew Cunningham shared their memories from working with him at NASA or getting to know him after leaving the program. Though their experiences differed, all agreed Cunningham had been a good friend and mentor.
Accutron and Bulova have each introduced new versions of the watch designs flown in space. The 2023 Accutron Astronaut brings back the iconic timepiece first used on the final Mercury flight 60 years ago, and Bulova's Lunar Pilot line now has its first same size models as the prototype chronograph worn on the moon's surface during Apollo 15. Both releases commemorate Bulova and Accutron's roles providing timers and timing devices for the space program.
The first U.S. stamp to depict a rocket launch was issued 75 years ago this fall. Since then, the postal service has released over 100 more space-themed stamps, celebrating the moon landings, the space shuttle, planetary exploration and the astronauts. In honor of that history, Space Foundation has selected the USPS to receive the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award at the 38th Space Symposium in Colorado in April.
For the first time in 17 years, two NASA astronauts have been awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who in 2020 became the first U.S. crew to launch on a commercial spacecraft, were bestowed with the medal at a White House ceremony on Tuesday (Jan. 31). The two SpaceX Dragon DM-2 crewmates bring the total number of medal recipients to 30 since it was first awarded in 1978.
NASA observed its annual Day of Remembrance of Thursday (Jan. 26), pausing to honor those who gave their lives in the pursuit of space exploration. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy, which claimed the crew of STS-107 just minutes before they were scheduled to land. NASA remembered the astronauts at events across the nation, including a ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial.
For the millions of drivers who took I-65 from Tennessee into Alabama, it served as a towering welcome sign. One of only two remaining such rockets, the Saturn IB display at the Ardmore rest stop stood for 44 years. NASA and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center have now decided it is too degraded to keep safely standing and should be replaced. A mix of real and mockup components, the Saturn IB may not survive the work needed to lower it.
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