| |
January 27, 2004
Martian Landmarks
Dedicated to Apollo 1 Crew
NASA memorialized the Apollo 1 crew --
Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee -- by dedicating the
hills surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's landing
site to the astronauts. The crew of Apollo 1 perished in flash
fire during a launch pad test of their Apollo spacecraft at Kennedy
Space Center, Fla., 37 years ago today.
Hills Dedicated to Apollo
1 Crew
Click
for larger image
Courtesy NASA/JPL/Cornell
"Through recorded history explorers
have had both the honor and responsibility of naming significant
landmarks," NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe said. "Gus,
Ed and Roger's contributions, as much as their sacrifice, helped
make our giant leap for mankind possible. Today, as America strides
towards our next giant leap, NASA and the Mars Exploration Rover
team created a fitting tribute to these brave explorers and their
legacy."
Newly christened "Grissom Hill"
is located 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) to the southwest of Spirit's
position. "White Hill" is 11.2 kilometers (7 miles)
northwest of its position and "Chaffee Hill" is 14.3
kilometers (8.9 miles) south-southwest of rover's position.
Lt. Colonel Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
was a U.S. Air Force test pilot when he was selected in 1959
as one of NASA's Original Seven Mercury Astronauts. On July 21,
1961, Grissom became the second American and third human in space
when he piloted Liberty Bell 7 on a 15 minute sub-orbital flight.
On March 23, 1965 he became the first human to make the voyage
to space twice when he commanded the first manned flight of the
Gemini space program, Gemini 3. Selected as commander of the
first manned Apollo mission, Grissom perished along with White
and Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire. He is buried at Arlington National
Cemetery, Va.
Captain Edward White was a US Air Force
test pilot when selected in 1962 as a member of the "Next
Nine," NASA's second astronaut selection. On June 3, 1965,
White became the first American to walk in space during the flight
of Gemini 4. Selected as senior pilot for the first manned Apollo
mission, White perished along with Grissom and Chaffee in the
Apollo 1 fire. He is buried at his alma mater, the United States
Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
Selected in 1963 as a member of NASA's
third astronaut class, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Roger Chaffee
worked as a Gemini capsule communicator. He also researched flight
control communications systems, instrumentation systems, and
attitude and translation control systems for the Apollo Branch
of the Astronaut office. On March 21, 1966, he was selected as
pilot for the first 3-man Apollo flight. He is buried at Arlington
National Cemetery, Va.
Previous article: Scientists
Thrilled to See Layers in Mars Rocks
|
