Discusses the requirements for becoming an astronaut.

"This book is being published in association with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The museum will celebrate its 40th anniversary in July 2016. There will be a new Smithsonian exhibition, to be called "Milestones of Flight." This book is NOT a catalog of the exhibition; rather, it is a history of flight told through approximately twenty-five historical milestones"--

Introduces the work of astronauts, including special jobs they might have on the space shuttle and experiments they might perform in space.

Examines the history and speculates on the future of space flight, the International Space Station, and the exploration and colonization of outer space.

Uses a newspaper format to take a look at developments that led from the ideas of Copernicus and other early scientists to the technological advances that enabled man to venture to the moon and beyond.

Discusses the race between the United States and the Soviet Union to be the first nation to send a man into space and to land on the moon, including a glimpse of historical, technological, and human factors involved.

Follow the course of NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers Mission. Learn how scientists determined that there was once water on Mars and how they resolved problems with the rovers in order to prolong the mission.