First Spacecraft

Thor-Able I with the Pioneer I spacecraft atop, prior to launch at Eastern Test Range at what is now Kennedy Space Center. Pioneer I launched on October 11, 1958, the first spacecraft launched by the 11 day old More

Description: Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the Moon, and the first of a series of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon. The spacecraft was spher More

(August 1969) This mosaic of Mariner 9 frames (top), taken during the first orbit, shows the remnants of the south polar cap of Mars dimly through the great dust storm. Mariner 7 photographed the same area in A More

(1971) A Martian shield volcano, approximately 25 miles across at the crater, photographed consecutively by Mariner 9 with the wide-angle and telephoto lenses. The summit crater and groves down the flank probab More

(November 27, 1971) In pictures taken early in the Mariner 9 mission, this region, shows a dark mountain standing above the Martian dust storm. This higher resolution photograph shows that the area contains a c More

Description: (May 30, 1971) The most conspicuous feature yet observed on Mars by Mariner 9 is the darkish spot located near the top of this picture. It has been tentatively identified as Nix Olympica, a curious More

(January 25, 1972) Technicians prepare Pioneer F spacecraft for testing in the Space Simulation Chamber at TRW Systems, Redondo Beach, California. The chamber subjects the spacecraft to the heat, cold, vacuum a More

Pioneer F/G Plaque: Pioneer 10 the first spacecraft to leave our solar system carries a message to other worlds. The plaque was designed by Drs. Carl Sagan and Frank Drake, the artwork was prepared by Linda Sal More

Description (1974) This picture of Venus was captured by the Mariner 10 spacecraft during its approach to the planet in early 1974. Taken with the spacecraft's imaging system using an ultraviolet filter, the pi More

An artist's concept of Seasat A, the first spacecraft dedicated for oceanographic studies. Seasat A was designed for monitoring the Earth's oceans with active microwave instruments. The scientific objectives we More

Art by Don Davis Pioneer 10 looking back at the Sun from Neptune's orbit as it becomes the first spacecraft to leave the Solar system

In 1986, the European spacecraft Giotto became one of the first spacecraft ever to encounter and photograph the nucleus of a comet, passing and imaging Halley nucleus as it receded from the sun. NASA/ESA/Giotto Project

Voyager 2 was the first spacecraft to observe the planet Neptune and its two satellites: Triton, the largest, and Nereid. The most obvious feature of the planet is its blue color, the result of methane in the a More

True and false color views of Jupiter from NASA's Galileo spacecraft show an equatorial "hotspot" on Jupiter. These images cover an area 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles). The More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, the Mars Climate Orbiter is free of the protective canister that surrounded it during the move to the pad. Targeted for liftoff o More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, workers get ready to remove the last piece of the canister surrounding the Mars Climate Orbiter. Targeted for liftoff on Dec. 10, More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, workers remove the canister surrounding the Mars Climate Orbiter. Targeted for liftoff on Dec. 10, 1998, aboard a Boeing Delta II More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Wrapped in a protective covering, the Mars Climate Orbiter with its upper stage booster is lifted up at Launch Complex 17, Pad A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, in preparation for mat More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Wrapped in a protective covering, the Mars Climate Orbiter with its upper stage booster is lifted up at Launch Complex 17, Pad A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, in preparation for mat More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Wrapped in a protective covering, the Mars Climate Orbiter with its upper stage booster is lowered in preparation for mating to the second stage of a Boeing Delta II (7425) rocket More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, workers place aside a piece of the canister surrounding the Mars Climate Orbiter. Targeted for liftoff on Dec. 10, 1998, aboard a More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Laura Churchley (left), Alice Wackerman and Julie Jenkins, daughters of Mercury Astronaut Alan Shepard, sp More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, NASA's Deputy Director for Planetary Science, Jim Adams speaks to the audience after the unveiling of the More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, the audience and speakers stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem by a m More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, United States Postal Service official Steve Massey addresses the audience during an event unveiling two ne More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Laura Churchley (left), Alice Wackerman and Julie Jenkins, daughters of Mercury Astronaut Alan Shepard, ap More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter addresses the audience during an event unveiling two new stamps to comme More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, Julie Jenkins, daughter of Mercury A More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, NASA's Deputy Director for Planetary Science, Jim Adams speaks to the audience in attendance for the Unite More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, United States Postal Service official Steve Massey and Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter have the honor of More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden speaks to the audience in attendance for the United States Postal Servic More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter speaks to the audience gathered for the unveiling of two new stamps that More