Manned Spaceflight Collection

Earthrise over Moon, Apollo 8
Earthrise from the Moon. This photograph was taken during the Apollo 8 mission of 21-27 December 1968. The lunar horizon is about 570 kilometers from the spacecraft, whilst the Earth is 384

International Space Station, 2008
International Space Station (ISS), February 2008, taken from the Space Shuttle Atlantis after undocking took place towards the end of the Shuttles mission to the ISS

Earthrise over Moon, Apollo 8. This famous image, one of the first of the Earth seen from another world, was taken by US astronauts on board the Apollo 8 spacecraft on 24th December 1968 as they

Earthrise photographed from Apollo 11 spacecraft
Earthrise. This photograph of a blue & white Earth rising over the horizon of the Moon was taken from the Apollo 11 spacecraft in July 1969

Apollo 11 astronaut footprint on Moon
Armstrongs footprint on the Moon. Apollo 11 photograph of the footprint of astronaut Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, imprinted in the lunar surface

Yuri Gagarin. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934- 1968) in his space helmet. Gagarin became the first person in space when he was launched on Vostok 1 on 12 April 1961

Astronaut on Moon with Earth

First US manned space flight, 1961. Redstone rocket launching the Freedom 7 capsule into space on 5th May 1961. This mission (Mercury-Redstone 3)

Yuri Gagarin onboard Vostok 1
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in the cabin of Vostok 1, the spacecraft in which he became the first person to orbit the Earth on April 12, 1961

Astronaut Alan Bean on the Moon during the Apollo 12 moon landings, holding equipment for experiments. The second manned mission to land on the Moon, Apollo 12

Earth from the Moon
Earth rising above the Moon. This image was taken from 112 kilometres above the Moon during the Apollo 8 mission on 24th December 1968

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, in front of the Vostok 6 spacecraft in which she made 48 revolutions of the Earth on June 16-19, 1963

Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (1934-1968), Soviet cosmonaut and first man in space, artwork. Gagarin was born near Gzhatsk, Russia

Laika the space dog
First animal in space. Laika, the bitch who became the first animal in space, inside a mock-up of the cabin of the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft. Sputnik 2 was launched on 3 November 1957

Yuri Gagarin. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934- 1968) in his space helmet. Gagarin became the first person in space when he was launched on Vostok 1 on 12 April 1961

Soviet poster commemorating Yuri Gagarin
Soviet poster commemorating the first manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin on 12th April 1961. Gagarins flight lasted 108 minutes

Eugene Cernan on Moon Apollo 17
The last man on the Moon. Astronaut Eugene Cernan stands on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission. At right is part of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), with its communications antenna

Gemini 7 in orbit, seen from the Gemini 6A spacecraft during rendezvous manouvres. These two spacecraft launched separately, Gemini 7 on 4 December 1965, and Gemini 6A on 15 December 1965

Belka, Soviet space dog, after the mission
Space animal. Belka, one of the dogs on board the second spacecraft to carry animals into orbit, after the mission. Belka was launched in the Soviet Korabl-Sputnik 2 (also called Sputnik 5)

Spacewalk over Earth
Spacewalk. Composite image of an astronaut floating free during a spacewalk against a backdrop of cloud systems on Earth. A spacewalk is also known as ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)

Apollo 14 astronaut on the Moon
Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell walking on the Moon and studying a map during the Apollo 14 moon landings. The gravity on the Moon is around a sixth of that on earth

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, 1963
Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova preparing to become the first woman in space. Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (born 1937) flew solo in the Vostok 6 spacecraft on 16 June 1963

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project poster. 1979 poster celebrating the joint US/Soviet Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) that flew in 1975

Installation of Vostok spacecraft
Vostok spacecraft installation. Workers installing a Vostok spacecraft. Vostok were Soviet spacecraft used as part of the Vostok programme, which flew six manned spaceflights between 1961 and 1963

Laika the space dog
First animal in space. Laika, the bitch who became the first animal in space, inside a mock-up of the cabin of the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft. Sputnik 2 was launched on 3 November 1957

Valentina Tereshkova
Portrait of Valentina Tereshkova (b.1937), Russian cosmonaut and the first woman in space. Tereshkova flew on Vostock 6, launched on 16 June 1963

Space walk. Composite computer artwork of an astronaut working on the outside of a spacecraft. He is performing a space walk or EVA (extravehicular activity). Part of the Earth can be seen behind him

Astronaut Duke next to Plum Crater, Apollo 16
Exploring the Moon: astronaut Duke stands next to Crater Plum during the first excursion of the Apollo 16 mission. Duke is seen holding a bore sampling implement

Helmet of astronaut McCandless during space walk

Space Shuttle launch, computer enhanced image. This is mission STS-99, flown by the Space Shuttle Endeavour. It launched on 11 February 2000

Launch of Vostok 1 spacecraft, 1961
Launch of Vostok 1 spacecraft. Close-up of the exhaust flames of the rocket launching Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968) into orbit from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 12 April 1961

Vostok 1 Soviet spacecraft
Vostok (Russian осток, translated as "East") was a family of rockets derived from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka ICBM designed for the humanspaceflight programme but later used for other sputnik

Return to Flight spacewalk. Astronaut Soichi Noglichi (from Japans space agency) waving for the camera. Astronaut Steve Robinson is seen taking the picture reflected in the visor

Launch of Shuttle Columbia, Mission STS-73
Launch of Mission STS-73. Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Centre at the start of Mission STS-73 on October 20, 1995. The crew of seven consisted of K.D

Yuri Gagarin visiting Manchester, England in 1961
Yuri Gagarin. View of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, visiting Manchester, England, in July 1961. Gagarin made his flight in the Vostok 1 spacecraft on April 12, 1961

Space Shuttle Columbia
Shuttle launch. Space Shuttle Columbia lifting off from the Kennedy Space Centre, USA. During this mission, STS-83, the shuttles crew performed various experiments in the Microgravity Science

Soviet space-walk, artwork
Soviet space-walk. Computer artwork of a Soviet Union cosmonaut performing an extra-vehicular activity (EVA, spacewalk) in orbit over the Earth

Soyuz docking mission, news reports, 1969
Front-page Western news reports on the Soviet Soyuz docking mission of January 1969, the first time two manned spacecraft had docked

Russian cosmonaut wearing a Strizh space suit
Spacesuit. Russian cosmonaut wears a Strizh (" swift" ) spacesuit which is worn during launch and re-entry. It protects the cosmonaut if the spaceship is partially depressurised

Manned maneuvring unit space walk, 1984. Astronaut Bruce McCandless floats free above the Earth in his manned manoeuvring unit (MMU) on 7th February 1984

Vostok rocket, Moscow, Russia
Vostok (Russian осток, translated as "East") was a family of rockets derived from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka ICBM designed for the humanspaceflight programme but later used for other sputnik

Inspection of the Soviet space shuttle, Buran
Buran, the Soviet space shuttle, being inspected on the runway at Baikonur Cosmodrome, USSR, after landing. Burans test flight of November 15th 1988 lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes

Salyut 7 space station in orbit
The Salyut 7 space station photographed in orbit. Attached to the space station at bottom, with the separate solar panels, is the Soyuz T14 ferry spacecraft

Soyuz 11 crew before launch, 1971
Soyuz 11 crew before launch. Soviet cosmonauts (left to right) Georgy Dobrovolsky, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav Volkov at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Astronaut spacewalks to repair Shuttle Telescope
Spacewalk. Astronaut Steven L. Smith waves his hand during an Extravehicular activity (EVA) or spacewalk during a space shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope

International Space Station, 2010
International Space Station (ISS), February 2010, taken from the Space Shuttle Endeavour prior to docking at the beginning of its mission to the ISS

Yuri Gagarin, souvenir postcard. This is one of many postcard designs issued in the Soviet Union after the spaceflight of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968), the first man in space

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"Mankind's Journey Beyond Earth: A Captivating Saga of Manned Spaceflight" Embarking on an extraordinary odyssey, Apollo 8 astronauts witnessed a breathtaking sight - the mesmerizing Earthrise over the Moon. In that awe-inspiring moment, humanity's perspective forever changed as they beheld our fragile blue planet suspended in the vastness of space. Apollo 11 continued this remarkable voyage, capturing another iconic image - Earthrise photographed from their spacecraft. As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left their footprints on lunar soil, they etched humanity's indelible mark upon the Moon's desolate surface. In 2008, aboard the International Space Station, astronauts marveled at both the wonders of weightlessness and a stunning view of our home planet. From this celestial vantage point, they glimpsed Earth's beauty and realized its profound interconnectedness. Yet amidst these triumphs were tales of sacrifice; Laika, the brave space dog who paved the way for human exploration with her pioneering journey into orbit. Her legacy lives on as a reminder of those who dared to venture beyond earthly confines. The year 1961 marked a pivotal milestone when Alan Shepard became America’s first man in space during his historic mission. This groundbreaking achievement ignited an era where dreams soared higher than ever before. Astronaut Alan Bean found himself standing upon lunar terrain during Apollo 12 – his presence serving as testament to mankind’s relentless pursuit of knowledge and discovery. With each step he took on that alien world, he brought us closer to unraveling cosmic mysteries. An astronaut gazing back at Earth from within Moon’s embrace evoked profound introspection about our place in the universe. The pale blue dot we call home appeared both fragile and resilient—a stark reminder to cherish and protect it for future generations. As Gemini 7 orbited above our planet like a silent sentinel in space, it symbolized humanity’s quest for understanding through scientific exploration.