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Pictures of Spacecraft
Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV)
Artist's conception of the MPCV performing a rendezvous during a deep-space mission.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, art, human spaceflight, shuttle successor
Atlantis rotates during its roll program shortly after liftoff on STS-129, November 16, 2009.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, human spaceflight, Space Shuttle program
Filed under pretty pictures, OSIRIS-REx, art, spacecraft
Filed under pretty pictures, Dawn, spacecraft, art
At 16:25 on August 5, 2011, the Atlas V 551 carrying Juno executed a picture-perfect liftoff.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, rockets, Juno
A 32-frame animation from the deployable camera DCAM2 on IKAROS. The camera rotated as it receded, producing the apparent spin of the sail.
Filed under pretty pictures, animation, pics of spacecraft in space, IKAROS
IKAROS performs his theme song!
Filed under pretty pictures, fun, art, spacecraft, IKAROS
The first three-astronaut spacewalk
Three astronauts ventured out in space at the same time on STS-49, Endeavour's maiden flight, in May 1992.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, human spaceflight, astronaut, Space Shuttle program
Voyager 1 at the edge of the solar system
Voyager 1 has entered a new region between our solar system and interstellar space, which scientists are calling the stagnation region. In the stagnation region, the wind of charged particles streaming out from our sun has slowed and turned inward for the first time, our solar system's magnetic field has piled up and higher-energy particles from inside our solar system appear to be leaking out into interstellar space.
Filed under pretty pictures, art, spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2
Scientists hope to use a balloon such as this one, 9 meters in diameter, to study the atmosphere of Venus from below its clouds. A helium-filled Teflon balloon could stay high enough above the ground (at an altitude of about 56 kilometers) to avoid cooking at Venus' high surface temperatures, and would be resistant to corrosion from the sulfuric acid in Venus' clouds.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, future technology, Future Mission Concepts
The Space Launch System, revealed at last
The SLS, shown in its initial configuration, stands almost 100 meters tall.
Filed under pretty pictures, art, spacecraft, human spaceflight, shuttle successor, Future Mission Concepts
At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, on May 31, 2003, the first half of the fairing for the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-2, also known as MER-A or Spirit) is seen behind the spacecraft.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit
Ebb, Flow, New Horizons, MESSENGER, and Dawn, all to the same scale (about 1:50).
Filed under pretty pictures, fun, spacecraft, GRAIL, New Horizons, MESSENGER, Dawn
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter view of Apollo 14 landing site. Tracks from a cart used to carry ALSEP equipment from the lunar module Antares are visible in this photo. The inset shows a picture taken from the ALSEP site, looking back at the Antares.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, pics of spacecraft in space, human spaceflight, the Moon, NASA lunar missions before 2005, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The descent stage of the lunar module Intrepid is seen perched next to Surveyor Crater, and the Surveyor 3 robotic probe. Astronaut foot trails to other nearby craters are also visible. The inset features Pete Conrad next to Surveyor 3, with Intrepid in the distance.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, pics of spacecraft in space, human spaceflight, the Moon, NASA lunar missions before 2005, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The descent module of the lunar module Challenger is seen in this image, halfway between the ALSEP site and the final resting spot of the lunar rover. In the inset photo, the rover is also at its final stop, with the Challenger seen in the background.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, pics of spacecraft in space, human spaceflight, the Moon, NASA lunar missions before 2005, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
HRSC is a pushbroom camera that builds up long images as it flies above the Martian surface. When it is at its closest approach to Mars, at 250 kilometers, the swaths are 52 kilometers wide. HRSC has nine channels: five panchromatic and four color. The five panchromatic channels are pointed at different angles -- one nadir, two forward, and two backward -- which allows HRSC to do near-simultaneous stereo imaging of every spot it photographs on Mars. The blue and green color channels are near-nadir, while red and infrared color channels are pointed forward and backward along-track, respectively.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, Mars Express, explaining image processing
Curiosity and its Centaur departing Earth
The Curiosity rover on its way to Mars, taken around 16:30 UT on November 26, just over an hour after its launch. The yellow circle shows the spacecraft; the fan-shaped plume is from the Centaur upper stage, the rocket that had just fired to send Curiosity from Earth orbit on to Mars.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, pics of spacecraft in space, Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory)
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, art, Dawn
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