Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Neil Armstrong, best known as the first man on the moon, and as having said the iconic words: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  passed away this weekend. He was 82 years old. (NY Times obit here .) Neil A. Armstrong  bio: Born August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Married. Two sons. Bachelor of Science degree, aeronautical engineering, Purdue University; Master of Science in aerospace engineering, University of Southern California From 1949 to 1952 he served as a naval aviator and flew 78 combat missions during the Korean War   Armstrong joined NACA, (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), NASA's predecessor, as a research pilot at the Lewis Laboratory in Cleveland and later transferred to the NACA High Speed Flight Station at Edwards AFB, California. In 1962, Armstrong was transferred to astronaut status, serving as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission, launched March 16, 1966. He performed the firs...

If the recent news about the NASA Rover making tracks on Mars is inspiring interest in astronauts, the planets, or space, check out these great resources: Kids: Cars on Mars: Roving the Red Planet You are the First Kid on Mars The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (Scientists in the Field Series) I Want to be an Astronaut There's No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library) Young Adult/Adult: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Ender's Game The Martian Chronicles  (the station where the NASA rover departed is named Bradbury Landing after Ray Bradbury, author of The Martian Chronicles and other sci-fi titles.) The John Carter of Mars series The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void DVDs: Five Years on Mars   (National Geographic) PBS Explorer Collection: Mars: The Red Planet Apollo 13 And som...