Artifact of the Week 20240119 - NASA and the BSA

The relationship between the BSA and NASA dates to the early 1960s, not long after NASA was founded. In 1958, Scouting Magazine addressed the launch of Sputnik and the role Scouting would play in this new world. Then in 1965, a new Merit Badge, Space Exploration was introduced, and before the first one was even earned, one of them made a historic trip on Gemini IV.
Since 1959 NASA has had more than 350 Astronauts, of these, more than 2/3 were Boy Scouts and at least 41 of them earned the Rank of Eagle Scout. Philmont even has a direct connection to NASA and the Apollo Program, hosting a geological field trip here on the Ranch back in the summer of 1964.
To help tell this story, the Museum has a number of artifacts on display, and we are going to share a few of them with you.