ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Frank Malina

Frank Malina was a very smart man who liked to learn about things called rockets. Rockets are like cars that can travel really, really fast and go up into the sky. When Frank grew up, he wanted to be an artist and make beautiful paintings, but he also loved rockets a lot.

So, Frank tried to put his two interests (art and rockets) together and he did it! He made something called a "rocket engine" which is the part of the rocket that makes it go up into the sky. Frank was so good at making rockets that he started to work with other smart people to make bigger and better rockets.

Frank was also a scientist, which means he liked to learn about things and discover new things. He figured out how to make rockets go really fast and really far by studying a lot about math and science. He also helped start a company called Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is a place where people build and test rockets.

Frank was a very important person because he helped create the technology that allows us to explore space and learn more about the world around us. We can thank him for helping us send people to the moon, satellites orbiting the Earth, and probes to other planets.