President Bush is expected to propose sending U.S. astronauts to Mars. Since 1964, there have been 17 U.S. attempts to send unmanned probes to Mars.
AMERICA’S MANNED SPACE PROGRAM
Shortly after the Soviet Union put a man in space, the U.S. launched its manned space program. Milestones and other notable events in the U.S. history of human space exploration:
May 5, 1961: The U.S. launches first American astronaut Alan Shepard Jr. into space.
May 25, 1961: President
John F. Kennedy declares America’s objective to put a human on the moon by the end of the decade.
Feb. 20, 1962: John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth.
Jan. 27, 1967: Three U.S. astronauts die when a fire sweeps the Apollo 1 command module during a ground test.
Dec. 21, 1968: First manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, Apollo 8, comes within 70 miles of lunar surface.
July 20, 1969: Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong is the first human on the moon.
Dec. 7-19, 1972: The Apollo 17 mission is the last manned visit to the moon.
May 14, 1973: Skylab 1, the first U.S. orbiting laboratory, is launched.
April 12, 1981: Shuttle Columbia becomes first winged spaceship to orbit Earth and return to airport landing.
June 18, 1983: Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
Feb. 7, 1984: Astronaut Bruce McCandless performs the first untethered spacewalk.
Jan. 28, 1986: Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch killing its crew of seven.
Sept. 29, 1988: NASA resumes the shuttle program with the launch of Discovery.
Oct. 29, 1998: Glenn joins the space shuttle mission at 77, becoming the oldest person in space.
May 29, 1999: Discovery becomes first shuttle to dock with the International Space Station.
Feb. 1, 2003: Shuttle Columbia breaks apart, about 15 minutes before it was supposed to land in Florida. Seven astronauts are killed.
January 2004: President Bush is expected to announce plans to send Americans to the moon and Mars.
Source: NASA
Chicago Tribune
