John Glenn was a pioneering American astronaut and four-term U.S. senator from Ohio, best known as one of NASA’s original Mercury Seven astronauts and the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962, aboard Friendship 7, a milestone that strengthened the United States’ position in the space race. Born in Cambridge, Ohio, in 1921, he served as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and Korea, flew nearly 9,000 hours, set a transcontinental speed record in 1957, and later contributed to early spacecraft design. After resigning from NASA in 1964 and retiring from the military, he entered politics, winning a Senate seat in 1974 and serving four consecutive terms, where he focused on science, national security, and government accountability. In 1998, at age 77, he returned to space aboard Discovery’s STS-95 mission, becoming the oldest person to fly in space while participating in research on aging. Glenn, remembered as humble and dedicated to public service, died on December 8, 2016. Courtesy of NASA.