Out of This World!

On this day in 1962, John Glenn piloted the Friendship 7 and became the first American to orbit Earth.

Scientists at NASA used this historic flight to answer some of their questions about space travel. For example, they wondered if astronauts would be able to eat in space.

John Glenn was among the first to try the new freeze-dried space food. He was able to consume the food without any problem, however, he did not think that powdered and liquefied food in aluminum tubes was very tasty!

March Parade of Colonel John B. Glenn by James Rosenberg shows Glenn's triumphant return to New York City , where an enthusiastic crowd of about four million people welcomed him home.

Pictured: James N. Rosenberg, 1874–1970 , March Parade of Colonel John B. Glenn (New York City, March 1, 1962), 1962, oil pastel on fiberboard, 24 x 18 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of James N. Rosenberg through the National Gallery of Art.