[anymouse]

Slash Dot discussion

And we wonder why the Mars Observer never reached Mars.

[anymouse]

Space ping.

[boris]

"Ira, or at least a portion of his ashes, is to my knowledge, the first person to leave Earth orbit"

Debatable. The Apollo Astronauts, on their trajectory toward Luna, could claim to have "left Earth orbit."

Indeed they were in an orbit centered on the Earth-Moon equilibrium point...and eventually went into orbit around the Moon. Yeah, I know the Moon is in orbit itself around the Earth.

But this claim is still debatable.

--Boris

[tal hajus]

All of this time I thought that John Carter was the first man to Mars.