On Oct. 29, 1998 at 2:19:34 p.m. EST, space shuttle Discovery launched with Senator John Glenn aboard, as he returned to space for the first time since his 1962 flight when he became the first American to orbit the Earth. In this image, he is at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center during water survival training for the STS-95 mission. Senator Glenn, wearing an orange launch and entry suit, dons his his helmet with the assistance of a suit technician.
During the mission, a battery of tests were conducted on Glenn and crewmate Pedro Duque to further research how the absence of gravity affects balance and perception, immune system response, bone and muscle density, metabolism and blood flow, and sleep.
Image Credit: NASA