Text 4 (Number 23-27)May 26th, 1951 was the day when the history maker, Sally Ride, was born in the world. She initiated her career as a tennis player at the age of 10. She gained national recognition as a young tennis player and got a scholarship to study at Westlake School for Girls. After graduation, she regretted her decision to enroll at Swarthmore University in Pennsylvania. She questioned whether she was passing up the chance to be professional tennis. Then, Ride decided to leave Swarthmore after her first year to explore tennis. In addition, she determined not to pursue a professional athletic career after three months of hard training and enrolled at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. She graduated with bachelor's degrees in both English and physics and earned master's and doctorate degrees at Stanford.Ride had been interested in space exploration since she was a youngster. Unfortunately, women werebarredfrom joining the astronaut corps throughout the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space flight programs. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has always drawn its astronauts from the ranks of military test pilots. Happily, in 1977, the policy changed, NASA recruited more scientists, including women, for the new Space Shuttle program. Ride was one of over 8,000 applicants for only 35 seats and she was one of only six women chosen for astronaut training that year. Her inherent athletic skills served her well during her training with NASA in 1977.Ride became the first American woman in space and the youngest American in space on June 18, 1983. It took one week to complete the mission. During the mission, she served as the mission's flight engineer. She was in charge of launching two communication satellites, operating the shuttle's mechanical arm, and conducting experiments.Ride flew on another shuttle mission, the STS-41G, on October 5. 1984. She spent eight days observing the Earth scientifically. She also worked on shuttle refueling techniques. After her second trip, Ride worked on the 1986 Challenger disaster investigation. Following theprobe,shewas appointed special assistant to the NASA administrator for long-term and strategic planning.Dr. Sally Ride was dedicated to enhancing science education and encouraging young women and girls to pursue careers in science. Imaginary Lines is one of her projects that helps females who are interested in math, science, and technology. She also wrote seven novels for children on space travel. Sally Ride Science, a nonprofit organization founded by her and O'Shaughnessy, encourages youngsters of all backgrounds to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. Sally Ride's legacy continues to inspire people even after her death. President Barack Obama awarded Ride the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 2013, and O'Shaughnessy accepted the medal.The underlined word "probe" could be replaced by...