The Gallaudet Eleven

Explore the history of the moon landing through this true story of eleven deaf men who helped NASA and America win the space race!

What did it take to put a man in space? To land him safely on the moon? It took years of research-and the help of eleven deaf men! What did they have that hearing researchers at NASA didn’t?

Take a look inside one part of the journey to the moon, and meet the Gallaudet Eleven: the brave volunteers who helped make it possible. These hidden figures played an important role in NASA’s research, and it was their shared disability that made them so vital to the plan: their vestibular systems, a part of the inner ear, did not work, meaning they did not get motion sick. The Gallaudet Eleven were the perfect volunteers for NASA’s spinning, whirling tests to learn the effects of space travel on the human body.

Whether it meant sitting in a tilting, spinning chair while researchers took notes, or boarding a special Air Force plane that allowed them to experience zero gravity, floating weightlessly in the air-the eleven “bioastronauts” always rose to the occasion, happy to help NASA’s mission.

Informed by direct correspondence with actual members of the Gallaudet Eleven, Kerry O’Malley Cerra launches this important story into the spotlight. With NASA’s new Artemis campaign working toward America’s next goal of putting people on the moon’s surface once again, there is no better time to learn more about this exciting behind-the-scenes look at the work leading up to the first ever moon landing.

Author Biography

Kerry O’Malley Cerra is an award-winning author of the novels Just a Drop of Water, Hear Me, and Make a Little Wave. Kerry’s work has received praise from The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Booklist, VOYA, and The Horn Book, calling her stories moving, perceptive, well-developed, and woven with an expert hand. A deaf author herself (who now hears with the help of one cochlear implant), she’s passionate about books that depict d/Deaf and/or hearing-loss experiences for children. Kerry, a former high school media specialist and social studies teacher, lives in South Florida.

Kristina Gehrmann is an illustrator and graphic novelist, exploring historical and fantasy subjects in a detailed painterly style. Her graphic novel debut, Im Eisland, tells the story of the lost Franklin Expedition in a trilogy of three comics, the first of which won the German Children’s Literature Award. She is deaf since birth, and currently lives in Hamburg, Germany, with her husband. Kristina invites you to visit her online at kristinagehrmann.com.