NHAS - Today in Astronomy History

	1961	US astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom makes the second manned Mercury flight, lasting 15 seconds longer than Alan Shepard's flight. After splashing down in the Atlantic, explosive bolts blow open a hatch causing the capsule to begin sinking. Water leaks into an open vent in Grissom's suit but he manages to grab a sling from the rescue helicopter before going under. The water filled capsule is too heavy to be lifted and sinks 5 km (3 miles) to the ocean floor near the Bahamas where it remained for 38 years. It was located and recovered in 1999. NASA tests clear Grissom of any error in the incident and he is later selected as the commander of first manned Gemini mission, making him the first person to fly in space twice. In one of the great ironies of manned spaceflight, this incident prompts NASA to remove the explosive bolts from later spacecraft. It took almost 5 minutes to remove the 12 latching bolts on the main hatch of the Apollo 1, in which Grissom was killed when a fire broke out in the capsule during a ground test on January 27th, 1967.
	1969	Astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to set foot on the moon. Hours later he is joined by Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin.
	1973	USSR Mars 4 spacecraft launched. It was planned for Mars orbit, but overshot and flew by Mars. It passed within 2,250 km (1,398 miles) of the planet on 10 February 1974 and returned some photos as it went by.