Explore
Pictures of Spacecraft
The RISAT 1 satellite during processing.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, Earth observing missions
India's Radar Imaging Satellite 1 lifts off aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The April 26 launch took place at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Southeastern India.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, rockets, Earth observing missions
Pioneer 10 exiting the solar system
As the Pioneers exited the solar system, they slowed down more than expected, a phenomenon known as the Pioneer Anomaly.
Filed under Pioneer 10 and 11, art, spacecraft
Artist's conception of the Deep Impact spacecraft observing the birth of the new crater on comet Tempel 1.
Filed under pretty pictures, Deep Impact, spacecraft, art
This artist's concept shows the venerable Voyager 2 spacecraft journeying out of the solar system at 15 kilometers per second (34,000 miles per hour) with the solar wind streaming past it four times faster.
Filed under pretty pictures, Voyager 1 and 2, spacecraft, art
IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) is a solar sail which gathers sunlight as propulsion by means of a large sail. This spacecraft will be launched in 2010 together with the Venus Climate Orbiter, "AKATSUKI"(PLANET-C), using an H-IIA launch vehicle.
Filed under pretty pictures, IKAROS, spacecraft, art
The HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this view of Opportunity sitting at the edge of the 100-meter-diameter crater Santa Maria on December 31, 2010, or sol 2466 of the rover's mission.
Filed under pretty pictures, pics of spacecraft in space, Mars, Mars Exploration Rovers, Opportunity, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Full-scale models of three generations of Mars rovers.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner, Mars Exploration Rovers, Opportunity, Spirit, Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory)
Phoenix landing site monitoring from HiRISE: Jan. 26, 2012
Just before the summer solstice, the Sun is 40 degrees above the horizon. The dark bounce mark and bright parachute that originally made the landing site easy to spot have apparently vanished. Now the best way to recognize the landing site is from the dark shadows thrown by the lander and backshell.
Filed under pretty pictures, amateur image processing, pics of spacecraft in space, Mars, Phoenix, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Opportunity on Endeavour's rim
This HiRISE image, taken on September 10, 2011, shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity sitting atop some light-toned outcrops on the rim of Endeavour Crater, near a smaller crater informally named Odyssey.
Filed under pretty pictures, pics of spacecraft in space, Mars, Mars Exploration Rovers, Opportunity, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
When HiRISE took a photo of Spirit's resting spot in Gusev crater on March 31, 2011, it happened to be in exactly the right position to catch a specular reflection (a glint) from the rover's solar panels. Apart from being pretty, it signifies that there was not a thick coating of dust on the panels.
Filed under pretty pictures, pics of spacecraft in space, Mars, Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Three rovers and a lander, with Carl Sagan for scale
Models of a Viking Lander, a Mars Exploration Rover (Spirit or Opportunity), Sojourner, and Curiosity, with Carl Sagan for scale.
Filed under pretty pictures, fun, spacecraft, scale comparisons, Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner, Mars Exploration Rovers, Opportunity, Spirit, Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory)
Opportunity on Endeavour's rim (detail)
This HiRISE image, taken on September 10, 2011, shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity sitting atop some light-toned outcrops on the rim of Endeavour Crater, near a smaller crater informally named Odyssey.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, pics of spacecraft in space, Mars, Mars Exploration Rovers, Opportunity, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Artist's impression of the Rosetta spacecraft
Filed under pretty pictures, art, spacecraft, Rosetta and Philae
A puff of its chemical thrusters lifts Hayabusa off from Itokawa after its dangerous first landing.
Filed under pretty pictures, art, spacecraft, Hayabusa (MUSES-C)
Photo inside the Hayabusa sample capsule
A photo taken on June 28, 2010 through the window of its protective vacuum chamber shows the clean-looking interior of Hayabusa's small sample return capsule.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, Hayabusa (MUSES-C)
Microrover MUSES CN and Sojourner
Microrovers range in size from MUSES-CN to Sojourner.
Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, future technology, Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner
Filed under pretty pictures, art, spacecraft, Lightsail and Cosmos-1, solar sailing
Connect With Us
Facebook! Twitter! Google+ and more…
Continue the conversation with our online community!
