Black and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders in a space suit surrounded by a ring of red with white text, a thin white ring and an outer blue ring.

John H. Glenn Jr. was born in 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio. John Glenn served during World War II in the Navy and Marines and in the Air Force and Marines during the Korean War. In 1962, Glenn became the first person to orbit the Earth in the Mercury-Atlas 6 spacecraft, commonly known by it's nickname, "Friendship 7". In 1998, he returned to space aboard the STS-95 Discovery, while conducting experiments on the aging process. In 1974, he was elected as a senator from Ohio, a position he retained until his retirement in 1998.

Red outer edge across the top with white text in it over a black and white photograph of three men in space suits

Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968 and was the second manned mission of the Apollo program. The crew of the Apollo 8, Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, became the first humans to orbit the Moon, the first to see the far side of the Moon, and experience the Earth rising over the Moon's horizon. Apollo 8 helped pave the way for the Apollo 11 mission by testing the communication, tracking and life-support systems of the Apollo Command Module. The crew was also able to photograph the lunar surface to obtain information on topography as well as other scientific information necessary for future Apollo landings.

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Red text along the top and bottom edges with a blue and gold illustration of the Houston skyline over a blue banner with gold text and an illustration of ships on whater, on a gold background.

The American Dental Association held their annual conference in Houston, Texas in 1941. Every year, the conference is held in a different city and provides professional development training for attendees.

Black and white photograph of a man's head in a space suit on a white background and in the center of the button with two space capsules one on each side of the head and red text along the top edge and under the image with a blue bottom edge with white text.

This button commemorates Astronaut Scott Carpenter who was the fourth American in space and the second to orbit the Earth. Carpenter was one of seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury. On May 24th,1962 Carpenter was launched into space aboard the spacecraft Aurora 7. The goal of the mission was to corroborate the previous space flight of putting a man in orbit. During reentry a targeting error took the spacecraft 250 miles off course. There was great concern over whether Carpenter had survived as he could not be easily located after his splashdown. Carpenter never flew in space again. He sustained an arm injury in a motorcycle accident in 1964 which made him ineligible for spaceflight. He went on to work as an aquanaut for the Navy's SEALAB program.

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Black and white illustration of a spaceship and the legs and feet of a person in a space suite walking on the moon with a strip of red above and below it with white text.

This button commemorates the Apollo 11 Moon landing of July 20, 1969. Buttons like this one were sold and collected as souvenirs of the historic event. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin walked on the Moon's surface while Michael Collins orbited above in the command module. Broadcast on live TV Neil Armstrong was the first to step onto the lunar surface and spoke the now infamous words "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Apollo 11 ended the Space Race by beating the Soviet Union in the race to the Moon as well as meeting President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.

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Black and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders in a space suit on a white background and in the center of the button with a blue outline of a banner across the top with red text in it and red text under the photograph and blue text along the bottom edge.

Malcolm Scott Carpenter was born in Boulder, Colorado on May 1, 1925. H served as a pilot in the United States Navy during World War II. He orbited the earth several times aboard the Aurora 7 and became the first person to eat solid food in space before returning to earth. His spacecraft landed in the Atlantic Ocean and he was picked up forty minutes later by a U.S. Navy vessel while aboard a life raft that was stored in his space capsule.

Read more about the History of NASA buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Blue and white photograph of a man's head in a space suit with red text along the top outer edge on a white background.

On February 20, 1962, as part of Project Mercury, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth and the fifth man in space. The intent of Glenn’s mission was to not only to put a man into orbit but also to observe his reactions to the environment of space and most importantly return him safely to Earth. With Glenn’s safe return he instantly became a national hero. His flight was commemorated with numerous souvenir items including buttons like this.

Black and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders wearing a space suite in the center of the button with red text along the outer edge on a white background.

John H. Glenn Jr. is a retired American astronaut, naval pilot, and politician. Glenn is best known for being the first person to orbit the earth. On February 20, 1962, Glenn's space capsule, the Friendship 7 orbited the Earth three times at an average speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour. He then landed in the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda. Glenn and his spacecraft were recovered by a United States Navy destroyer called the Noa.

Illustration of a white, black and red space shuttle flying in black space with stars over a blue planet inside a hexagon with a thin red outline then a grey outline with red and purple text, then a thin purple outline surrounded by a white background.

Challenger STS-6, more commonly referred to as "Challenger 6", refers to a mission undertaken by NASA between April 4- April 9, 1983. Challenger was the name of the space shuttle utilized during the mission, while the number 6 refers to the fact that it was the sixth mission undertaken by the NASA space program. Challenger 6 featured the first spacewalk undertaken as part of the NASA space shuttle program. It also featured the first deployment of a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.The names of the Astronauts that took part in the mission were: Paul J. Weitz, Karol J. Bobko, Donald H. Peterson, and F. Story Musgrave.

Illustration of a white eagle flying across the inner circle of the button with a wing depicted as the American flag on a blue sky background with two stars and an illustartion of a space shuttle. This is in the center of the button with a thin white ring around it followed by a thicker grey ring and a thicker white outer ring.

Columbia STS-2 was the official name of the second mission attempted by NASA's space shuttle program as well as the second voyage of the Columbia space shuttle. The operation began on November 12, 1981 and ended on November 14, 1981.The mission was originally supposed to last 5 days, but was shortened to 2 days due to the failure of a fuel cell. The name of the commander of the mission was Joseph H. Engle, while the Pilot was Richard H. Truly. The space shuttle orbited the earth approximately 37 times during which the astronauts conducted scientific experiments.