b) Alan Shepard

Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space on May 5, 1961, aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. His suborbital flight, part of Project Mercury, was a significant milestone in the U.S. space program, coming just three weeks after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Shepard’s achievement marked the beginning of a new era in space exploration for the United States and ignited a fervent space race with the Soviet Union. His historic flight demonstrated America’s capability to venture into space and was a source of national pride during the Cold War.