February 03

Ranald MacDonald was born to a Scottish father and Chinook mother and grew up in the Pacific Northwest before setting sail for Asia. In 1848, he deliberately shipwrecked himself on Japanese shores to seek an opportunity to teach English during the country’s isolationist period. Held as a prisoner, he gave lessons to samurai interpreters who would later play key roles in opening Japan to the West. After his return, MacDonald continued to travel and lectured on Japan in the United States. He authored accounts of his experiences, providing one of the earliest Western perspectives on Tokugawa Japan. MacDonald’s daring venture and cross-cultural impact have made him a noteworthy figure in early US–Japan history.

Joe F. Edwards Jr. (born February 3, 1958) is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and former NASA astronaut. Selected in NASA Astronaut Group 15 in 1994, he served as pilot on the STS-89 mission in 1998, which facilitated the eighth docking of the Space Shuttle with the Mir space station. During his career, he logged over 287 hours in space and contributed to international cooperation in orbit. Before joining NASA, Edwards flew combat missions during the Gulf War and accumulated over 3,000 flight hours. After retiring from NASA in 2001, he continued to advocate for aerospace research and education. His achievements exemplify the spirit of exploration and the partnership between the United States and Russia in human spaceflight.