How our Mercury space capsule helped WIN the Space Race

Before Apollo 11 landed on the moon and changed the course of history, the U.S. and Soviet Union battled for control of space in a Cold War clash that rocked the globe. A remnant of this struggle, Mercury-Atlas capsule #6, on permeant display in our Hall of Astronomy, still captures the gravity ofthat race to the starsin every scratch and dent scattered across its hull. What exactly did it take to send America’s first astronauts into orbit? A barrel-worth of flying monkeys, a few melting missiles, and all the brainpower of an oft-forgotten engineer in Houston.

Questions? Comments? Show ideas? Email [email protected].

For more information about the Houston Museum of Natural Science, visit https://www.hmns.org/