To Infinity and Beyond!

By Chris Karr in News on Nov 30, 2006 7:51PM

The Sun-Times is reporting that one of Chicago's own will be heading out to space for twelve days next week on the Discovery. The lucky astronaut is one Joan Higginbotham, a South Side native who will be the third African American woman to take a trip out there. The launch is planned for December 7.

We've wanted to be an astronaut since watching Space Camp back in the Eighties. We never got around to joining the Air Force and becoming a pilot, thus we get to sit at home while Higginbotham gets to go out and run the Discovery's robotic arm during the mission. (Seriously, how cool is that job?)

We at Chicagoist wish Higginbotham a safe and productive trip, and we hope she has a few spare minutes to have a good time and goof around in zero-G.