Amelia Earhart was one of the most renowned and admired aviators in American history. In an era when travel was still in its infancy and aviators were as famous as movie stars, Earhart was a symbol of America’s adventurous spirit and led the way for women to pursue unconventional careers. In 1932, Earhart emulated Charles Lindbergh’s illustrious feat when she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Seemingly devoid of fear and hailed as the “Queen of the Air,” she also set numerous aviation records before setting off on a headline-grabbing round-the-world flight in 1937 — but on July 2, she mysteriously disappeared along with her airplane and was never seen again.

In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged America to send a man to the Moon before the end of the decade. Less than a year later on February 20, 1962, the U.S. manned space program reached a milestone towards this ambitious goal when astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn was launched into orbit aboard the Project Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, making three rotations of the Earth in a flight lasting almost five hours. This historic flight set the stage for even more daring quests and led to the monumental Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969.