Dan Tani's Aug. 20 visit to his hometown of Chicago was the sixth stop on NASA's Hometown Heroes 2008 campaign.
Col. Bob Cabana's Aug. 11 visit to his hometown of Minneapolis was the fourth stop on NASA's Hometown Heroes 2008 campaign.
Recently the city of Seattle, Wash., extended its connection to space beyond the Space Needle tower when it received a visit from astronaut Clay Anderson.
NASA astronaut Terry Virts throws out the first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
NASA astronaut Clay Anderson appears in Kansas City, Mo., for NASA's Hometown Heroes 2008 Campaign.
The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame inducted Loren Shriver, Bryan O'Connor, John Blaha and Robert Cabana into its elite ranks of space explorers.
Follow Scott Parazynski's most recent expedition, and learn more about the parallels of mountain climbing and space exploration.
NASA astronauts are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Clay Anderson could replace The Little Engine That Could as the mascot for persistence.
Becoming an astronaut is hard – a lot harder than Danny Olivas ever thought it would be. But hard in a good way.
Leland Melvin never meant to become an astronaut. What impressed him was chemistry.
For Eileen Collins, who retired in May, it seems an astronaut’s work is never done.
Twists in her path lead Joan Higginbotham to space.
For Stephanie Wilson, becoming an astronaut meant learning to swim before learning to soar.
Happenstance is Suni Williams’ answer to the question of how she became an astronaut.
Astronauts are hard at work whether in space or here on Earth. View astronaut video, audio and PSAs here to learn more about what they are up to.
Space missions and spaceflight training often inspire astronauts to write about their experiences. Here is a collection of letters, reports and other writings by astronauts.
The Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center maintains official biographies for all active duty flight personnel and maintains an archive of bios for former astronauts.
NASA accepts applications for the Astronaut Candidate Program on a continuous basis. Candidates are selected as needed, normally every two years, for pilot and mission specialist categories. Both civilian and military personnel are considered for the program.
The Flight Crew Operations Directorate (FCOD) is responsible for overall planning, direction and management of flight crew operations and Johnson Space Center aircraft program activities.
Last updated January 2005, the Astronaut Fact Book contains data about more than 200 space explorers. Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded here.
Take a virtual tour of the orbital outpost.
Discovery's crew installed the Harmony module on the International Space Station.
A veteran of six space flights talks about being an astronaut.
› View This VideoCanadian astronaut Julie Payette is interviewed.
› View This VideoNEEMO, or NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, is a project that takes place at an underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida. Engineers and astronauts test concepts for future space exploration here.
The astronaut candidates of 2004 are pictured here during training and other activities. Selections include both American and Japanese astronauts.