The veteran of four space flights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly inimical to human life. He describes navigating the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight, both existential and banal: the devastating effects on the body; the isolation from everyone he loves and the comforts of Earth; the pressures of constant close cohabitation;...

"Neil Armstrong's journey to the moon is the focus of this picture book in the New York Times bestselling series of biographies about heroes. This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great-the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of one of America's icons in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers and that always...

Although Apollo 11 made Aldrin a famous person as he described the "alien world" of moon and space as "magnificent desolation," his celebrity status led to both personal trials and triumphs back on earth. "The twin demons of depression and alcoholism emerged -- the first of which Aldrin confronteed early and publicly, and the second of which he met with denial until it nearly killed him." He describes the failure of two marriages and renewal once...

Selected as a Mission Specialist in 1978 in the first group of shuttle astronauts, Mike Mullane completed three missions and logged 356 hours aboard the Discovery and Atlantis shuttles. It was a dream come true. As a boy, Mullane could only read about space travel in science fiction, but the launch of Sputnik changed all that. Space flight became a possible dream and Mike Mullane set out to make it come true. In this absorbing memoir, Mullane gives...

"Meet award-winning engineer and veteran astronaut Ellen Ochoa--once just a girl from Los Angeles, California. The granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, Ellen would pursue a career in physics at a young age and go on to earn master's and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. In 1993, Ellen became the first Latina in space. As a retired astronaut, she became the first Hispanic and second female director of the Johnson...

Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger comes a chapter book series about women who spoke up and rose up against the odds—including Kalpana Chawla!
Born and raised in India, Kalpana Chawla was discouraged from pursuing a career in aeronautical engineering because there were limited career options for women in that field. But she persisted, getting her degree and then...

"Scott wasn't sure what he wanted to be when he grew up. He struggled in school and often got in trouble with his twin brother, Mark. Then one day Scott discovered a book about test pilots and astronauts that set him on a new path. His new focus led him to fly higher and higher, becoming first a pilot and then an astronaut, along with his brother--the first twin astronauts in history. But his greatest accomplishment of all was commanding the International...