|
|
עמוד:26
Pioneers in Spacel _ l >^ Read the profiles of four people who participated in the space race . In what ways was each a " pioneer" ? Use the dictionary definition to help you . Yuri A . Gagarin ( 1934- 1968 ) Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth , on April 12 , 1961 in the Russian spacecraft Vostok 1 . When the returning spacecraft was close to Earth , Gagarin jumped out and landed by parachute . In 1968 , Yuri Gagarin was killed in a plane crash . A crater * on the moon was named in his honor . John Glenn ( 1921 ) John Glenn served as an American fighter and test pilot . In 1957 , he set a record for flying at supersonic speed . On February 20 , 1 962 , he became the first American to orbit the Earth . In 1974 , he was elected to the United States Senate . Glenn returned to space in October 1998 , aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery , becoming the oldest person to travel in space . Christa McAuliffe ( 1948- 1986 ) In the 1980 s , NASA included Christa McAuliffe , a high school teacher , on a Space Shuttle mission . She planned to teach two lessons from space ; topics included the roles of crewmembers and life in space , a tour of the Space Shuttle , reasons for exploring space and technology developed by the space program . On January 28 , 1986 , the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff , and all seven astronauts were killed . In 1990 , The Christa McAuliffe Planetarium was opened in her memory . Ilan Ramon ( 1954-2003 ) Ilan Ramon , the first Israeli astronaut in space , was a colonel and fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force . In 1998 , Ramon began training at the Space Center in Houston . On January 16 , 2003 , he and six other crewmembers were launched into space aboard the Columbia . Ramon's role in the mission was scientific . Among his many duties , he was responsible for a study to find out how desert dust affects clouds , rain and climate in the Mediterranean and Middle East . On February 1 , 2003 , the Columbia broke up during re-entry , just 16 minutes before it was to land . There were no survivors . Answer on 1 What was each person's contribution to space exploration ? 2 Add events to The Space Race Game on pages 24 and 25 . Use the important events from the profiles . pioneer n . a person who is the first to do something important . * crater —a hole made by an object that hits the surface of a planet or a moon .
|
|