Space Probes & Human Exploration
Retrieved 1 to 10 (of 158 total) images | Next Images » | Last Images »
| Pinpoint Landing (November 20, 2009) |
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The Surveyor 3 spacecraft sits silently in a small lunar crater, with the Apollo 12 lunar module on the crater's rim in the background. Astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean landed just a few hundred feet from Surveyor 3 in November 1969 to test the precise landing techniques that would be needed for future missions. Surveyor 3 landed in 1967 and operated for about two months. Conrad and Bean snipped off several parts of the robotic lander, including its camera (the tall cylinder at the top right part of the lander) for analysis on Earth. [NASA] For more information, see our November 20 program. |
| Martian Waystation (October 1, 2009) |
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Astronauts set up instruments on Phobos, the largest moon of Mars, in this artist's concept. Russia plans to launch a robotic probe to study the small moon, which could make a good outpost for observing and exploring Mars. [NASA/Pat Rawlings] For more information, see our October 1 program. |
| High Drama (August 4, 2009) |
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The rising Sun backlights the International Space Station in this dramatic image from the nearby space shuttle Endeavour. Some of the station's large electricity-producing solar panels are silhouetted against the curve of Earth, with the Sun just beginning to color the sky. [NASA] |
| Back to the Future? (July 24, 2009) |
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Astronaut Mike Gernhardt drives a test version of a possible moonbuggy across the California desert during a trial run in October 2008. NASA is developing the spacecraft, boosters, and other equipment to send astronauts back to the Moon. The first flight won't come until 2020 or later, however -- more than a half-century after the first lunar landing. [NASA] For more information, see our July 24 program. |
| Still Standing (July 21, 2009) |
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Four decades after Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left the Moon, the base of their lunar lander sits undisturbed in this image from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter -- the first picture of the lander ever snapped from lunar orbit. LRO, which entered lunar orbit earlier this year, carries the most powerful camera of any lunar orbiter to date. In addition to the Apollo 11 site, it also photographed four of the five other Apollo landing sites. The Scientists expect to get even better pictures later in LRO's mission as it drops to a lower orbit around the Moon. [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State] For more information, see the LRO web site.. |
| On a Tranquil Sea (July 20, 2009) |
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Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin backs out of the Lunar Module "Eagle" just hours after he and crewmate Neil Armstrong became the first men to land on the Moon, on July 20, 1969. During a moonwalk that lasted less than three hours, Armstrong and Aldrin gathered rocks and soil, set up three experiments, and took a phone call from President Richard Nixon. They lifted off from the Sea of Tranquility the next day to rejoin Michael Collins, who had waited in lunar orbit aboard the Command Module, for the trip back to Earth. [NASA/Ed Hengeveld] For more information, see our July 20 program. |
| Alien Adventure (July 14, 2009) |
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The submarine Ben Franklin prepares to depart on a month-long journey through the Gulf Stream on July 14, 1969. NASA sponsored the expedition to study the effects on the crew of a long period spent in tight quarters in an alien environment -- in this case, the sea instead of space. [NASA/MSFC] For more information, see our July 14 program. |
| Settling In (June 22, 2009) |
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After a perfect launch on June 18, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (shown looking back at Earth in this artist's concept) entered orbit around the Moon on June 23. During one year of observations, it will scope out future landing sites, look for evidence of ice, and measure the radiation that strikes the Moon. [NASA] For more information, see the LRO homepage. |
| Back to the Moon (June 15, 2009) |
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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, shown in this artist's concept, is scheduled for launch as early as June 18. It will study the lunar surface and magnetic and gravitational fields in great detail. A second craft, LCROSS, will share a ride to the Moon with LRO. LCROSS will slam into a crater near the south pole to see if it can blast out any frozen water. [NASA] |
| Rocketplane! (June 8, 2009) |
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The X-15, the first rocketplane, cruises above the California desert during a testflight. During almost 200 powered flights, the X-15 set records for altitude and speed that have been exceeded only by space missions. Lessons from the craft have been applied to the space shuttle and a new generational of commercial rocketplanes. The X-15 made its first, unpowered testflight in June 1959. [NASA/DFRC] For more information, see our June 8 program. |
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