Sally Ride's Stories

If you are interested in Sally Ride's career and some of her writings, you can find plenty of published material.  Many are geared for younger readers to engender their interest in space.  For instance, Ms. Ride's Space Shuttle adventures and more are recounted in her 1989 book for younger readers To Space & Back.  Ms. Ride also co-authored many other books with Tam O'Shaughnessy related to various aspects of the space program designed for younger readers, including:

-- Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System.  Published in 2005, Kirkus Reviews opined:

Astronaut/scientist Ride teams up with a science teacher for a book about the Voyager spacecrafts' epic journeys. During them, they passed close enough to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to take detailed pictures and measurements; the result is a wealth of new information (especially about the planets' rings and moons), gorgeous color photos, and some scientific puzzles.

-- Exploring Our Solar System.  Published in 2003.  Booklist opined:

In this copiously illustrated volume, astronaut Ride and educator O'Shaughnessy offer a thrilling introduction to our solar system. Although our neighboring planets were "formed at about the same time and from about the same stuff," the authors write, "they are nine very different worlds." Each chapter takes readers on a planetary tour. The section on Earth includes a time line and theories of the evolution of life on our planet. The authors explain facts in simple, straightforward language that doesn't condescend to a young audience, and the visuals include exciting images from space, charts that contrast the planets' properties, and artists' renderings of unattainable space views and imagined explorations. Throughout, the authors successfully put the planets in wider context, as in the section "Venus, Earth and Mars--Why They Are So Different." Useful appended charts, including a full listing of all space flights, add to the appeal.

-- The Mystery of Mars.  Published in 1999.  School Library Journal opined:

Actually a physical portrait of two planets, this survey draws illuminating parallels and contrasts between the history, structure, and current state of both Earth and Mars. Imparting a vivid sense of how inhospitable the red planet is, at least to life as we know it, Ride and O'Shaughnessy supply a lively mix of sweeping claims ("Mars has the largest volcanoes and the longest, deepest canyons in the entire solar system"), specific observations, and logical extrapolations. The authors' comments are enhanced by a generous array of computer graphics, precisely detailed paintings, and recent photographs from both space and ground level. The material includes information gathered from the 1997 Pathfinder mission and a mention of the Mars Climate Orbiter, though not of the latter's failure. 

Sally Ride, Rest in Peace

Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, died on Monday at the age of 61.  Ms. Ride's first entered the Earth's orbit via the Challenger Space Shuttle about 29 years ago on June 18, 1983.  Her list of accomplishments beyond this event is quite impressive:

-- Ph.D. in physics from Stanford. 
-- Joined NASA in 1978.
-- Helped develop a shuttle robot arm for NASA.
-- Part of the Rogers Commission to investigate the Challenger explosion in 1986.
-- Part of the commission to investigate the Columbia explosion in 2003.
-- Member of the Augustine Committee to make recommendations on the future of human spaceflight.
-- Science fellow at the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford University.
-- Professor of physics at the University of California in San Diego.
-- Started Sally Ride Science in 2001 to encourage children to seek careers in science and technology.

While she was not the first woman in space, with Russia being the first nation to do so in 1963 (while China hit this goal earlier this year), Ms. Ride certainly blazed a bright trail for other woman to follow. She may also be the first gay astronaut.  Sally Ride Science's obituary noted:

In addition to Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years, Sally is survived by her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin, and nephew, Whitney; her staff of 40 at Sally Ride Science; and many friends and colleagues around the country.

Most importantly, as her organization's biography noted, was her love of space and determination to share it with others:

Sally’s historic flight into space captured the nation’s imagination and made her a household name. She became a symbol of the ability of women to break barriers and a hero to generations of adventurous young girls. After retiring from NASA, Sally used her high profile to champion a cause she believed in passionately—inspiring young people, especially girls, to stick with their interest in science, to become scientifically literate, and to consider pursuing careers in science and engineering.

Sally, we wish you well on your new voyage.