space history

The Complete History Of Ceres, The Planet (?) Between Mars And Jupiter

Over the last couple of weeks, the Dawn Spacecraft has been beaming back spectacular pictures of Ceres – a world, discovered more than a century before Pluto, about which we know very little. This is the story of its discovery, and humanity’s impending visit to one of the last unexplored planetary bodies in the solar…

io9 Andrew Liptak Feb 23

Vintage Cigarette Boxes Feature Designs From The Soviet Space Program

In earlier decades, when someone reached for a smoke, they might shake out a cigarette from a box featuring the cosmonaut dog Laika, Sputnik, or the Soyuz. These largely Russian cigarette packages are a retro look at a time when even a quick hit of nicotine would remind us of our spacefaring dreams. Laika (via…

io9 Vincze Miklós Sep 29

Vintage Memorabilia Celebrates The Soviet Union’s Cosmonaut Dogs

The canine members of Soviet Union’s space program were stars, symbols of the nation’s technological future. And so, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, these pups appeared on matchbook covers, commemorative boxes, ceramics, and more. https://gizmodo.com/the-first-animals-in-space-1399364861 A matchbox label with Laika, 1957 (via Guardian) A halva box with Laika (via eBay) Children’s toy packaging from West…

io9 Vincze Miklós Sep 25

These Shiny Foil Screenprints Of Space History Are Fantastic

The UK designers at Astronomika have launched a limited edition screenprint series that they describe as their attempt to draw everything humans have sent into space. They call it “a growing compendium of beautifully crafted screenprints celebrating the past, present and future of spaceflight.” The results so far—printed with aluminum and bronze foils by Dan…

Space & Spaceflight Geoff Manaugh Apr 17

Buying Pieces of the Space Race at Bonhams’ Space History Auction

This week, Bonhams hosted an auction of historical space items in Manhattan. The Space History Sale featured troves of objects and documents, both American and Soviet, dating back to the heyday of the space race. And Gizmodo got the chance to take a peek. As with the dinosaur bone auction we attended at Bonhams back…

Space & Spaceflight Bob Sorokanich Apr 10

Selfies In Space!

A selfie taken on Earth may not be that exciting, but snapped in space, the humble selfie suddenly becomes something pretty special. Here are some of the greatest spaces selfies ever to be snapped, ranging from the majestic, to the comic — even a few from before the selfie officially existed. Top image: Astronaut Mike…

io9 Ria Misra Jan 22

When did we start believing in Martians? Why did we stop?

Today, we have rovers busily studying the surface of Mars, but 100 years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for people to believe that intelligent Martians occupied the Red Planet, and 100 years before that, visions of Moon dwellers danced in many people’s heads. Where did these ideas of nearby intelligent extraterrestrials come from? And why did…

io9 Lauren Davis Sep 8

16 Names NASA Considered For The 1980s Space Station That Never Was

During his 1984 State of the Union speech, President Reagan announced that the U.S. would build a new permanently manned space station within a decade. The Space Shuttle program was underway, and a permanent space station seemed like the next logical step in our bold push into the final frontier. It didn’t hurt that the…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 29

Did Meteors Cause Life On Earth?

Are asteroids responsible for the creation of life on Earth? Recent experiments back up a theory that the basic ingredients for life came from beyond the stars… which makes us all aliens. Battlestar Galactica was right! Scientists have long thought that the Earth wasn’t formed with a lot of organic matter, due to the planet’s…

io9 Graeme McMillan Nov 7

How Much Do You Know About Space Exploration? Take These Quizzes To Find Out

Think you know a lot about space exploration? Maybe you are just bored at work. Either way, you can test your knowledge about the space shuttle and the space program with the following quizzes. Quiz 1: Test Your Knowledge Of The Space Shuttle. Quiz 2: Test Your Knowledge of the Space Program Over the Last…

Space & Spaceflight Sean Fallon May 5

The Ninteenth Century Madman Who Invented Martians

He was the man who launched a thousand imaginary rocketships to Mars — in the nineteenth century, before anybody knew the word “Martian” and War of the Worlds hadn’t been written yet. Percival Lowell, a wealthy Bostonian, spent his youth traveling Japan and Korea before having a nervous breakdown and recovering by falling in love…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 28

The Complete History Of Ceres, The Planet (?) Between Mars And Jupiter

Vintage Cigarette Boxes Feature Designs From The Soviet Space Program

Vintage Memorabilia Celebrates The Soviet Union’s Cosmonaut Dogs

These Shiny Foil Screenprints Of Space History Are Fantastic

Buying Pieces of the Space Race at Bonhams’ Space History Auction

Selfies In Space!

When did we start believing in Martians? Why did we stop?

16 Names NASA Considered For The 1980s Space Station That Never Was

Did Meteors Cause Life On Earth?

How Much Do You Know About Space Exploration? Take These Quizzes To Find Out

The Ninteenth Century Madman Who Invented Martians

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