On February 24, 2011, the Space Shuttle Discovery launched on its final mission. We were greatly honored when Astronaut Alvin Drew asked to take along the Max Science Adventure books on this mission, so that he could read them to children while orbiting Earth. To our knowledge, this made them the first children’s books ever chosen to be read out loud from space. Astronaut Drew originally hoped to read all three books from the International Space Station, where we would have seen Earth below out the window. Due to time constraints, he read only Max Goes to the Moon, and read it from the Shuttle cockpit after they undocked from the station. He also enlisted his crew mates to read a couple of other books, for a program he calls “Story Time in Space.” He hopes this program will be continued by future astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Watch astronaut Alvin Drew read Max Goes to the Moon during the Space Shuttle Discovery’s final mission!
See the signed certificate confirming Max as an honorary member of the crew of STS-133, the Space Shuttle Discovery’s Final Mission.
Read the article “How My Dog Made it to Orbit” by author Jeffrey Bennett, which discusses the space reading and the educational philosophy behind the Max Science Adventure series.