Auction Offers Chance to Meet Mercury 7 Astronauts

On the 50th anniversary of the press conference that introduced America's first astronauts, a foundation started by the Mercury Seven is raising scholarship money with an auction that includes opportunities to dine with the first and second Americans to orbit Earth.

The Titusville-based, non-profit Astronaut Scholarship Foundation today opened its semi-annual auction of astronaut experiences and memorabilia. Proceeds support scholarships for students pursuing science and technology degrees.

Bidding is open until 5 p.m. EDT April 18. Click here for a list of auction items and rules.

As of 10:30 a.m. today, a lunch with John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth in 1962, led the bidding at more than $1,000.

Lunch with Glenn's Project Mercury colleague Scott Carpenter - the only other living member of the original seven - is also up for grabs, as is a Cape Canaveral meal with Apollo 10 commander Tom Stafford or a chance to see a space shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center with veteran shuttle flyer Fred Gregory.

You can read a FLORIDA TODAY story about the introduction of the Mercury Seven here.

And check out this interactive site commemorating the press conference put together by NASA, a read a transcript here.

Other items being auctioned include a cachet cover signed by the Apollo 11 crew, and items flown in space on various missions, from a fork used by Skylab 4 astronaut William Pogue to a polo shirt worn by astronaut Bruce Melnick on STS-41 in October 1990.

The foundation - established in 1984 as the Mercury Seven Foundation - annually awards 19 scholarships each worth $10,000, for a total of $190,000, according to its Web site. It has awarded a total of more than $2.5 million in scholarships.

One scholarship winner last year was University of Central Florida student Ashley Ewh, a graduate of Satellite High School here on the Space Coast.

IMAGE NOTE: Above, the Mercury Seven, dressed in spacesuits, are Wally Schirra, left, Alan Shepard, Deke Slayton, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Gordon Cooper and Scott Carpenter. Source: 1961 NASA file. Below: John Glenn image provided by Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.