Wally Funk's Race for Space

 82-year-old Wally Funk made history today by becoming the oldest person ever to travel to space -- fulfilling a dream that had been deferred for 60 years! Funk, who traveled to space on Blue Origin's inaugural crewed flight, had been a member of the Mercury 13's "almost astronauts," a group of female pilots who passed the same rigorous psychological and physical tests as the male astronauts of NASA’s Mercury 7 but were denied the opportunity to be among the country's first astronauts because NASA refused to allow women into the space program. To read Wally Funk's incredible story and the little-known history of the Mercury 13, visit https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=34009

Wally Funk's inspiring story is told in the excellent biography for adult readers, "Wally Funk's Race for Space," at https://www.amightygirl.com/wally-funk-s-race-for-space

For two fantastic books for young readers about the courageous women of Mercury 13, we highly recommend "To Fly Among the Stars: The Hidden Story of the Fight for Women Astronauts" (https://www.amightygirl.com/to-fly-among-the-stars) and “Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared To Dream” (https://www.amightygirl.com/almost-astronauts), both for ages 10 and up

There is also an excellent history of the Mercury 13 program for adult readers, "The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight," at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-mercury-13

For a lively graphic novel about the first women of the space program, check out "Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier" for ages 10 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/astronauts-women-on-the-final...

And, to inspire the space-loving Mighty Girls in your life, you can find more books about mighty women of space and space-themed toys in our blog post "Reach for the Stars!" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=16848