As mission control performed its final system checks, Scott Carpenter, the backup astronaut for the mission, said "Godspeed, John Glenn."

A spacesuit contains air under pressure to protect from the vacuum in space. It must be designed with a compromise of rigidity and flexibility, so that it does not inflate like a balloon (preventing him from reentering the spacecraft) and allowing him to move and perform tasks.

The first American to perform an EVA (ExtraVehicular Activity) was Edward H. White II, on Gemini 4. This occurred on June 3, 1965, just four years before mankind would perform an EVA on the lunar surface.

Neil Armstrong was the eldest of three children of Stephen and Viola Engel Armstrong. His mother was Viola armstrong, and his father was Stephen armstrong.

Chris Hadfield was the first Canadian to do a space walk.

NASA astronaut John Glenn's February 20, 1962 flight splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean after circling the earth three times.

being an astronaut serves the larger world community by