New Reader's Digest Treasury for Young Readers (1963)

As usual I find space art hidden in the oddest places. During the early 1960s space flight was all about our American heroes. While Scott Carpenter was the first astronaut it was John Glenn who was our first "space hero."  Reader's Digest created this anthology of articles for children to read including this article about John Glenn.

Reader's Digest New Treasury for Young Readers. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association. 200 p. 28.5 cm. 1963.

Because he had orbited the Earth, the map his passage over the planet was almost always part of the description of his deeds.

This particular one is very beautiful as John Glenn's ship achieves separation.

Of course part of the story that was really only told after it was all over was how the separation of the rocket pack was not indicated correctly on John Glenn's control panel. He had to guess if his heat shield had been exposed correctly and had to start his re-entry not knowing if he would be protected or not.

Luckily he returned home safely.