Sally Ride, who blazed trails into orbit as the first American woman in space has died of pancreatic cancer. She was 61.

Flying in formation around the moon, a pair of Nasa probes began mapping the lunar gravity field in hopes of figuring out why Earth’s only natural satellite is shaped the way it is.

A computer model that convinced Nasa the Columbia astronauts were in no danger from damage done to the shuttle by a piece of falling debris was outdated and lacked the right information, accident investigators said.