Copyright 2019 by Alan Katz
Illustrations copyright 2019 by Chris Judge
Cover copyright 2019 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018951804
ISBNs: 978-0-7624-6338-1 (paperback), 978-0-7624-6337-4 (ebook)
E3-20190703-JV-NF-ORI
To all of the teachers in my life; theyre true Awesome Achievers.
W hats an Awesome Achiever? Its someone whos Awesome. And an Achiever.
In this book, youll find out about twelve such people. Theyre scientists whove shared their genius-osity (not a word, but you know what I mean) with the world. Their inventions and discoveries have made us healthier, smarter, happier, and safer. Its likely that youll be familiar with their work, and yet, its also likely that youve never heard of most of these folks.
As I tell you about these Awesome Achievers in science, Ill also be giving you my own insights into their lives and careers.
Am I Awesome? Am I an Achiever? Not exactly. But Mrs. Anna Bailowitz, my third-grade teacher, once said I was a nice boy.
That was good enough for me. And it made my parents happy.
I hope this book makes you happy.
Ill get out of the way nowso you can find out about some Awesome Achievers in science.
Enjoy and thanks!
ALAN
I magine taking a road trip across the country to the greatest theme park in the world and then not even getting out of the car. Thats kind of what Michael Collins did as he soared to the moon but didnt get the chance to step onto it.
Michael Collins has a storied history in the U.S. Military and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) programs. He began his career as a graduate of the United States Military Academy (go Army!) and entered the United States Air Force in the early 1950s. While in the Air Force, he became a major general; he flew F-86 Sabre fighters in France and then visited air force bases in other countries as an instructor on the maintenance and flying of new aircraft. That experience allowed him to accumulate the necessary number of flight hours required to apply for the United States Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School; in 1960, his classmates included future astronauts Frank Borman (Apollo 8, Gemini 7 missions) and Jim Irwin (Apollo 15).
His decision to join NASAa relatively new program at the timecame after watching John Glenns 1962 Mercury-Atlas 6 flight. The idea of orbiting the Earth in just ninety minutes dazzled him (who wouldnt feel that way?) and he simply had to apply. Major General Collins was accepted in 1963, and after he completed a demanding training program, he was assigned to Gemini 10. Gemini 10s three-day mission was to rendezvous with another spacecraft in orbit (astronaut Collins was the first to spacewalk from one spacecraft to another) and perform medical, technical, and scientific experiments.
After that, astronaut Collins was assigned to Apollo 11, the first manned flight to the moon. Given that he was the only crewmember with spaceflight experience, he was selected as command module pilotwhich meant he was to remain on board the Columbia while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin famously walked the surface of the moon. Now, you might think astronaut Collins was lonely while flying solo approximately 250,000 miles from home. Its only natural to think that. Id certainly be lonely up there. Scared, even. Id probably also feel a little left out. But none of that was true for astronaut Collins.
Although it has been said that not since Adam has any human known such solitude, astronaut Collins knew that he was quite important to the mission. In his autobiography, he wrote that this venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two. During the forty-eight minutes of each orbit that he was out of radio contact with Earth, the feeling he reported was not loneliness but rather awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation (joy).
Astronaut Collins was a vital part of the successful Apollo 11 mission; without him, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would not have been able to walk the surface of the moon. And though he never personally touched the planet, astronaut Michael Collins did touch our lives by being one of only twenty-four humans to fly to the moon.
Astronaut Michael Collins also designed the famous patch that the Apollo 11 pilots wore.
Heres what it would have looked like if I had drawn it:
I ONCE ORBITED PLUTO ALL BY MYSELF! I WALKED COMPLETELY AROUND HIM AT DISNEYLAND!
IN TERMS OF APPROXIMATE SIZE, IF THE EARTH WERE A BASKETBALL, THE MOON WOULD BE A TENNIS BALL (BUT A LOT LESS FUZZY).
I WONDER IF NEIL ARMSTRONG COMPLAINED ABOUT HAVING MOON ROCKS IN HIS SHOE? I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!
THE MOONS DIAMETER IS ONE-FOURTH THE SIZE OF THE EARTHS. MAYBE THEY TOLD MICHAEL COLLINS IT WAS TOO SMALL FOR THREE PEOPLE TO WALK ON!
ASTRONAUT COLLINS WAS BORN ON HALLOWEEN. MAN, IS A SPACE SUIT A COOL COSTUME!
A POEM CALLED ORBITING
(Not written by astronaut Michael Collins, but based on his experiences)
Its quite tranquil here in space.