"Clipped Wings: The 65th Anniversary of the Mercury 13"

"Clipped Wings: The 65th Anniversary of the Mercury 13" The Marion Heritage Center, in Marion, will be hosting a special event during Womens History Month in recognition of women who have made history in Space. Historian David V. Wendell will be delivering a lecture highlighting the path finding legacy of the Mercury 13, the first women to pass all tests to qualify as astronauts, yet were never allowed by NASA to fly. This month marks the 65th anniversary of their equalling or exceeding in all tests performed by both male or female to enter Space, but it would be the Russians who were the first to launch a woman beyond the bonds of gravity. The United States finally caught up in the 1980s with the launch of Sally Ride, who broke the glass ceiling for others such as Iowa's Peggy Whitson, the biologist from Mt Ayr, that would go on to be the first commander of the International Space Station and accrue more time in Space than anyone else in history. Wendell's lecture will include memories of his own experiences with these path finding women, including one, who, sixty years after passing the tests to qualify as an astronaut, finally rose into Space aboard Blue Origins as the oldest person to have the chance to behold the curvature of the Earth. Wendell will also share artifacts and memorabilia of their contributions to the Space program with a centerpiece of models signed by the Mercury 13 and Whitson. Marion Heritage Center, 590 10th Street, Marion. Event is free.