Though living in modest conditions, Slovaks or the people performing their activities in Slovakia have contributed to the development of flying by their genius and skills. We can be proud that the essence of rocketry - the discovery of reactive power – was invented by the native of Bratislava called Segner. It is worth considering that the dream of the voyage to the Moon was first introduced by Mauritius Gustav Reuss (1818- 1861), a doctor, a biologist and a writer born in Revúca ( a village in Slovakia), the author of Hviezdoveda (Star Science) where, under the influence astronomer Johann Joseph Littrow, a project of a manned balloon mission to the moon was described ten years before Jules Verne. In his book of Fantasy - Hviezdoveda (Star Science), Slovak people were sent to orbit the Earth. And in a way, it is significant that this dream of mankind was fulfilled by another descendant of the Czechs and Slovaks, the American captain of Slovak origin Eugene Andrew Cernan.

His dedication, self-discipline and responsibility enabled him to realize three space missions:

  • Gemini 9A - he was one of the first to work in the open space outside the spacecraft
  • APOLLO 10 - the principal task of the mission was to verify the operation of LM (Lunar Module) close to the Moon before the actual landing on its surface.
  • Apollo 17 – as the captain of the crew and a pilot of the lunar module, he participated in the last manned mission to the Moon, while creating several previously unbroken records.

 

E.A. Cernan was engaged in the most important events and projects of the US space program. Except for the above mentioned manned mission to the Moon, Cernan took part in other joint US-Russian projects such as SOJUZ - APOLLO as a manager and instructor for the purpose of further cooperation with the Mir station and building a new international space station (ISS).