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    • Project Mercury was the United States' first program to put people in space. Beginning in 1958 and completed in 1963, the program made six crewed flights and marked the start of human spaceflight in the United States.
    Aviation
  • Aviation
  • Aircraft
  • Balloons
  • Airships
  • Ultralights
  • Helicopters
  • Vertical flight
  • General aviation
  • Commercial aviation
  • Sports aviation
  • Military aviation
  • Early flight
  • Interwar aviation
    • Spaceflight
  • Spaceflight
  • Spacecraft
  • Human spaceflight
  • Mercury program
  • Gemini program
  • Apollo program
  • Space stations
  • Space Shuttle program
  • Commercial spaceflight
  • Uncrewed spaceflight
  • Artemis program
    • Astronomy
  • Astronomy
  • Telescopes
  • Stars
  • Sun
  • Solar System
  • Moon (Earth)
  • Small solar system bodies
  • Dwarf planets
  • Exoplanets
    • Behind the scenes
  • Behind the scenes
    • People
  • People
  • African American or Black people
  • Asian American or Asian people
  • Latino people
  • LGBTQ+ people
  • Native American or Indigenous peoples
  • Pacific Islander people
  • People with disabilities
  • Women
    • Records and Firsts
  • Records and Firsts
    • Science
  • Science
  • Life sciences
  • Physical science
    • Society and Culture
  • Society and Culture
  • Art
  • Science fiction
    • Technology and Engineering
  • Technology and Engineering
  • Navigation
  • Reconnaissance
  • Satellites
  • Robotics
  • Drones
  • Rockets
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    • War and Conflict
  • War and Conflict
  • Weapons
  • World War I
  • World War II
  • Cold War
  • Korean War
  • Vietnam War
  • Gulf War
  • Iraq War
  • Afghanistan War

    • Project Mercury was the United States' first program to put people in space. Beginning in 1958 and completed in 1963, the program made six crewed flights and marked the start of human spaceflight in the United States.
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    • Stories See all Stories
    Calling Lovers of All Things Lunar September 22, 2022 What was the Mercury Program? September 22, 2022 Who is Houston? September 21, 2022 Conserving and Digitizing Alan Shepard’s Mercury Freedom 7 Suit May 05, 2022 The Myth of John Glenn’s Seven-Orbit Mission February 20, 2022
    Exhibitions See all Exhibitions
    Learn more Destination Moon National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC Learn more Fifty Years of Human Space Flight National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
    Learning Resources See all Learning Resources
    History of Space Food A very short history of how people eat and what they eat in space. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kivw3nnSt_8 Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8 Apollo program, Human spaceflight, Life sciences, Mercury program, People, Science, Spaceflight

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         How John Glenn Suited Up for Space When astronaut John Glenn made history as the first American in orbit, his custom spacesuit helped him make the journey. https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/how-john-glenn-suited-up-for-space/PgICWTw7NkaLKw Grades 17-20, Grades 15-16, Grades 13-14, Grade 12, Grade 11, Grade 10, Grade 9, Grade 8, Grade 7, Grade 5, Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 6 Behind the scenes, Mercury program, Human spaceflight

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         What’s New in Aerospace: Museum Careers and the Display of Freedom 7 (Alan Shepard’s Capsule) Find out about the careers involved in conserving and displaying the nation’s important air and space related objects, including the Mercury Freedom 7 capsule. https://youtu.be/Klv8NpRPYrI Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grades 17-20, Grades 15-16, Grades 13-14, Grade 12, Grade 9, Grade 8 Mercury program, Spacecraft

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         My Path: Gene Kranz - Failure is Not An Option Failure is not an option. is a famous quote from the movie Apollo 13. Learn what Gene Kranz thinks about failure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-O6TBwoL9k Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9 Apollo program, Behind the scenes, Human spaceflight, Mercury program, Moon (Earth), People, Rockets, Space stations, Technology and Engineering

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         To the Moon and Beyond Breakout Room Students will learn about the US's first human journeys into space in order to will crack the codes from the different NASA missions to gain the final passcode for the Artemis future missions to Mars! https://sites.google.com/si.edu/tothemoonandbeyondvbr/home Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12 Human spaceflight, Mercury program, Moon (Earth), Spacecraft, Space Shuttle program, Gemini program, Apollo program, Small solar system bodies, Spaceflight

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    Publications See all Publications
    Learn more Spaceflight: A Concise History
    Explore other subtopics Spacecraft Human spaceflight Space Shuttle program Space stations Gemini program Apollo program Mercury program Commercial spaceflight Uncrewed spaceflight Artemis program