Iowa astronauts recall Apollo 11 inspiration

The two Iowans in America’s astronaut corps both point to the historic first moon landing 40 years ago today as the spark that launched their successful careers in space exploration. Peggy Whitson of Beaconsfield and Jim Kelly of Burlington have both rocketed...

Iowan confident NASA will fix the shuttle

The latest Iowan to fly aboard a space shuttle says he’s confident NASA will conclusively fix problems with the orbiter before it flies again next year. Astronaut Jim Kelly says he was angry when he first learned a three-foot chunk of foam flew off the external...

NASA astronaut touts soybeans as space food

An astronaut who grew up in Nebraska is at the Iowa State Fair today (Tuesday), touting soybeans as a crop to grow for food on long space flights, like a manned trip to Mars. “Given the distances away, the travel times involved, we need to have smarter ways to...