We believe there’s a superhero in each of us. True Superheroes celebrates people who’ve overcome adversity, made amazing contributions to society, and inspired others to do the same. Each week we nominate people in different fields. This week we focus on Space.
Buzz Aldrin
While Neil Armstrong took humanity’s first step on the moon Buzz Aldrin may well have taken the most difficult one. His preparations for the Apollo 11 mission were beset by personal tragedy, and on his return to Earth he battled depression and alcoholism as he attempted to come to terms with what he had experienced, and the celebrity - and conspiracy theories - that came with it. Now he’s helping to promote the next lunar landings and enthuse future generations of astronauts to follow in his famous footsteps.
The advert said: “Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary.” Helen Sharman - a British chemist working at a candy company - had no experience, but did have the skills to beat 13,000 other competitors to a privately funded seat on a Soviet space mission in 1991. The funding dried up and the Soviet Union was collapsing around her but Helen’s only concern was science and on her return to Earth she became an inspirational advocate for STEM education and international cooperation.
He’s a Korean American hero who took part in over 100 combat missions in the Middle East and won bravery medals for rescuing wounded Iraqi soldiers while under enemy fire, but Jonny Kim’s next mission will be very different. The ex-Navy Seal is now one of the stars of NASA’s Astronaut Candidate program, and training to be one of the first humans to return to the moon in over 50 years, and may well be the first human on Mars.
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