Image Gallery

In situ pictures and illustrations of probes, landers and equipment. They will be found in their systemic or archeological context by future explorers, weathered by extreme environmental conditions such as micrometeoroids impacts, solar radiation, dust, wide temperature ranges and, for those on Venus, high pressure, heat and corrosion.

Luna 9 (The Moon) – Post-landing artist view of the probe and its Cruise Bus in the background. As the Luna 9 and 13 Cruise Buses hard landed without any protection, they are probably more damaged than what the illustration suggests – Credit: Andrei Konstantinovich Sokolov? (date unknown)

Luna 9 (The Moon) – Some sort of a strap is visible in the lower part of the probe’s panorama, it could be one of the two-surface mirrors or a spring-loaded blade that opened one of the petals – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1966)

Luna 13 (The Moon) – Portion of the panorama showing two unidentified objects on the left and another one to the right. They probably come from the Cruise Bus that hard landed nearby: the rightmost object could be an helical antenna and the objects to the left could be either another part of the helical antenna or the probe’s airbag system (above) and a fairing (center). A small object is also barely visible in the upper center of the picture – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1966)

Luna 13 (The Moon) – The large object to the far left of the panorama is probably a cluster of boulders, however the size, global shape and smooth angles suggest that it might be the wreckage of the Cruise Bus or the flattened airbags – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1966)

Surveyor III (The Moon) – The probe is now incomplete as the scoop at the end of the extendable arm to the right and the TV camera above it (the large vertical tube) were removed by the Apollo 12 crew and returned back to Earth for analysis – Credit: NASA (1969)

Surveyor V (The Moon) – The Alpha-Scattering Surface Analyzer (basically a spectrometer) left on the surface. It sled down the slope during the three-month mission – Credit: NASA (1967)

Surveyor VII (The Moon) – The scoop arm was used to move the Alpha-Scattering Surface Analyzer at different places during the mission. Both are visible on the pictures – Credit: NASA (1968)

Apollo 8 (Solar orbit) – The S-IVB Third Stage pictured before its solar orbit injection as were the next four. Those of Apollo 13 to 17 were sent into a collision course with the Moon to help calibrate the seismometers – Credit: NASA (1968)

Apollo 8 (Solar orbit) – Another shot at the S-IVB Third Stage showing the debris cloud (most of it made of ice particules though) released after separation with the spacecraft by explosive bolts. The Lunar Test Article replacing the Lunar Module for this mission is clearly visible in front of us – Credit: NASA (1968)

Apollo 10 (The Moon) – The last picture to date of the LM-5 ‘Snoopy’ Ascent Stage. Once the astronauts back and safe aboard the CM, the Ascent Stage engine was fired to depletion and sent to solar orbit. It is the only surviving LM Ascent Stage intact as all other ones were intentionally crashed on the Moon – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 11 (The Moon) – The first Jettison Bag ever left on the surface and, in the lower center of the image, the Contingency Sample Collection Bag Ring partially hidden by the LM left landing gear strut shadow – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 11 (The Moon) – Inadvertent shot of Neil Armstrong while he was discarding the LEC Bag under the LM. It landed to the left next to the Jettison Bag. The Contingency Sample Collection Bag Ring is also visible in the LM landing gear strut shadow on the right – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 11 (The Moon) – Two SRC York Mesh spacers lie next to the Jettison Bag. They were used as padding material to protect tools inside the SRC boxes on the way to the Moon and were not needed anymore when the boxes were filled with rocks for the return trip – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 11 (The Moon) – The abandoned Solar Wind Collector staff and, to the far left, the Lunar TV assembly. This is another inadvertent shot of Neil Armstrong as he advances the film prior to removing the magazine from the camera, hence the tilted view – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 11 (The Moon) – Old Glory on the foreground and the Lunar TV Assembly in the center of the picture. As all Apollo flags, the fabric has been bleached white under decades-long of solar radiation, and this particular flag was blown down when the Ascent Stage Engine was ignited. The other ones are still standing and casting shadows – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 11 (The Moon) – The EASEP instruments including the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP) and the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LRRR). Note the deployment hardware lying between them: among pins, lanyards and brackets, the LRRR protective cover to the right of the thruster and the LRRR ‘Hockey Stick’ are the most noticeable – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 11 (The Moon) – LRO image of the landing site. The LM Descent Stage is the big object in the center while both scientific instruments are just below it. Note Neil Armstrong’s footprints venturing to the large crater to the right – Credit: NASA (2009)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – Copy of the small ceramic wafer, also known as the ‘Moon Museum’, that was probably hidden in the LM Descent Module along with other personal effects from the Grumman technicians. From the top left corner down to the bottom right are artworks from Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, David Novros, Forrest Myers, Claes Oldenburg and John Chamberlain. Note Andy Warhol’s classy drawing – Credit: Frosty Myers (date unknown)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – The RTG Fuel Cask Dome Retrieval Tool (upright T-handle on the left) and the Fuel Transfert Tool lying next to it were used to retrieve the Fuel Capsule from its cask (upper right hand corner) and to place it inside the RTG. The aluminum rod at the bottom of the picture is the LM left landing gear Lunar Surface Contact Probe. ALSEP brackets and deployment lanyards are also visible on the surface – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – The first ALSEP instruments. Clockwise from the center are the Central Station, the Passive Seismic Experiment, the Lunar Surface Magnetometer (with its arms up) and the Solar Wind Spectrometer. A dust cover is also visible to the far right of the picture – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – The S-Band antenna trunk door set aside on the LM right foot pad, it was used as a sunshield for the SRC rock boxes between the EVAs. Two contrast charts are visible in the background: one hanging from the MESA, the other one on the surface and covered with dust – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – Clockwise from the left, the S-Band Antenna, Old Glory, the Solar Wind Collector and the Lunar TV assembly. Both the SWC experiment and the burned-out TV camera were returned to Earth. Note the dangling US flag: the hinge that was supposed to hold the crossbar and flag out from the staff broke – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – A Contrast Chart dropped in the shadow of a crater while another one was left in the sunlit side. Contrast Charts were used to calibrate cameras in different lighting conditions – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – The Surveyor III probe stripped down of its scoop and TV camera: note the dangling wires and the severed aluminum tubes. This is the very first occurence of extraterrestrial archeology – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – The ALSEP site far in the background, and barely visible in the crater in the foreground, up from the deep footprints, the first Contrast Chart dropped on the surface by Pete Conrad and so messed with dust that he couldn’t get a picture of it – Credit: NASA (1969)

Apollo 12 (The Moon) – LRO image of the landing site. The Surveyor III probe is at the lower right and the ALSEP site at the top of the picture. The EVA-2 traverse brought the astronauts around both large craters nicknamed ‘The Snowman’ – Credit: NASA (2009)

Apollo 13 (The Moon) – The crippled Service Module ended up into the Earth atmosphere, however the sector 4 panel along with various equipment and debris are probably down on the surface of the Moon: when oxygen tank #2 exploded, the Apollo stack was outbound to the Moon on a Lunar landing trajectory – Credit: NASA (1970)

Apollo 13 (The Moon) – Impact site of the S-IVB third stage. This picture of the LRO orbiter suggests that it probably hit flat. It is the only successful scientific experiment of the mission ( it helped calibrate Apollo 11’s and 12’s seismometers) along with the Moon surface pictures taken during the slingshot maneuver – Credit: NASA (2009)

Luna 17 (The Moon) – The landing platform viewed from the Lunokhod 1 rover. Note that the missing tracks in front of the ramps mean that the rover stepped down at the other side of the lander. Ramps were placed on both ends to prevent stranding the rover – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1970)

Luna 17 (The Moon) – A ghostly TV video shot at the landing platform in its context. The vertical mast is roughly 2.5 m high and secured the rover in place during the trip to the Moon and all the way down to the surface – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1970)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – S-Band Antenna packing material including the round aluminum rib protector and the carry bar over the thermal blanket and the top foam pad to the right. The antenna legs tie down strap is barely visible on the blanket – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – A Jettison Bag, the LRRR Pallet and thermal shrouds stored under the LM. Note the silver landing radar at the top right-hand corner protected from the engine bell heat by the white square shield squeezed between them – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – The LEC Bag lying next to the LM left footpad. Used from Apollo 11 to 15, it carried the 20-meter long Lunar Equipment Conveyor, a tether that worked like a clothesline to transfert equipment to and from the Ascent Stage – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – Close-up picture of the RTG. It is basically a small nuclear generator that supplies power to the Central Station (the golden foiled box right behind it) and thence to the scientific instruments. The fins provide radiative cooling to the hot fuel cylinder. Note the dust that was already kicked on its base, the LRRR in the far background, the Mortar Package at the right edge and the packing material to the left – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – The ALSEP instruments. The red flags mark the position of the Mortar Package and a T/G experiment Geophone. Note the dust covers, brackets and bags scattered in front the Central Station and to the right of the picture – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – The LRRR clear-plastic cover with a red stripe (center right) lies next to the instrument. Three such retroreflectors were left on the surface by the Apollo crews, this one is similar to Apollo 11 and Apollo 15’s is larger – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – At the bottom center of the image, an unused cup-shaped Documented Sample Bag, probably #22N, fell on the surface and was abandoned by the crew – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – Both PLSS and Old Glory in the foreground and the ALSEP instruments in the upper left hand corner. The second golf ball shot by Alan Shepard is barely visible halfway up to the ALSEP site – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – From left to right, the MET cart, the Lunar Close-up Camera with its cassette cover lying next to it, and a SRC York Mesh packing material. Note the Hasselblad Camera and the 16mm Camera (with the forgotten film magazine inside) on the MET. The Lunar TV cable and a probable pin or bracket are also visible on the surface – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – Barely visible in the center of the picture, in a crater, are the Contingency Sampler Handle thrown as a javelin by Ed Mitchell and, just in front of it, the first golf ball swung by Alan Shepard – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 14 (The Moon) – LRO image of the landing site. Note the EVA-2 traverse footprints running off frame to the right and leading up to Cone Crater. The brightest object to the left is probably the highly reflective flat circular blanket of the Passive Seismic Experiment – Credit: NASA (2009)

Mars 3 & 6 (Mars) – Artist’s illustration of the ill-fated probes. They would have both deployed a skidding rover, nicknamed PrOP-M, that was tethered to the lander with a 15-meter long umbilical – Credit: unknown (date unknown)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – The Contingency Sampler Handle, a bracket and a probable ALSEP package D-Ring in the center of the picture and, to the right, the Contingency Sample Collection Bag Ring – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – The ALSEP instruments among dust covers, brackets, bags and other packing material. From left to right are the gray-colored RTG, the Central Station, the Passive Seismic Experiment, the Solar-Wind Spectrometer Experiment, the Magnetometer (with its arms up) and, to the far right, the SIDE/CCIG – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – A spring-loaded Boyd Bolt is visible to the right of the Solar-Wind Spectrometer Experiment. Used from Apollo 12 to 17, they held tight the folded ALSEP instruments during the voyage to the Moon – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – Far in the background, a little white triangle-shaped object is visible slightly to the right and up of the center of the picture. Its shape and brightness are consistent with a discarded Documented Sample Bag, probably #189 or #191 – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – On the next picture of the panorama, the same discarded Document Sample Bag is visible to the far left, suggesting that it is not a smudge on the camera lens. However, the white dot to the right is a stain on the film: it doesn’t appear on the next frame of the panorama – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – Another Documented Sample Bag is visible on the surface next to the LMP’s feet on the upper right hand corner. It is probably another discarded bag, #165 – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – The hammer and the Falcon feather used for the Galileo experiment. They both hit the ground at the same time as expected and are now lying underneath the LM MESA along with thermal blankets and straps. Note the LRV High Gain Antenna packing material in the upper left hand corner of the picture – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – Personal and symbolic items left on the surface by the LMP: medallions, silver pieces, a small sliver of Central Oregon lava and the picture of a man. The two clear plastic parts probably encased one of the items and split open when hitting the ground – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – The Lunar Roving Vehicle 1 parked at its permanent location and in the background the Fallen Astronauts Memorial. Note the missing front-left wheel fender extension on the rover: it was lost during the first EVA – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – Close-up picture of the 18.2-cm large Fallen Astronauts Plaque and the 8.5-cm long Figurine at the Memorial site behind the rover. Both were made of aluminum and the Plaque bears the names of the six Soviet Cosmonauts and the eight US Astronauts known to have died in service at the time, but the list is probably now wiped off by solar radiation – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – LRV TV frame of the abandoned Lunar Module Falcon Descent Stage. Note that the flag wasn’t disturbed by the Ascent Stage launch blast and is still standing. The white dots belong to some discarded packing material – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – The 78-cm long Particles and Fields Subsatellite (PFS-1) was released in Moon orbit just before the crew returned to Earth. Apollo 16 deployed a similar microsatellite, PFS-2 and both have impacted the Moon after 18 and 3 months, respectively, of activity – Credit: NASA (1971)

Apollo 15 (The Moon) – LRO image of the landing site. The ALSEP site is to the upper left and the LRV is parked in the back spot to the right, at the edge of the bright area. Note the EVA-1 traverse LRV tracks going down off frame – Credit: NASA (2009)

Pioneer 10 (Solar escape) – The gold-anodized aluminum plaque, best known as the ‘Pioneer plaque’, is fixed to the probe’s antenna support struts. The engraved side is turned inwards to prevent it from erosion by interstellar dust. A similar plaque is attached to the probe’s sister-ship, Pioneer 11 – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 16 (The Moon) – The first scientific experiment deployed on the surface by the crew was the Far UV Astronomy Camera/Spectrograph, a 75mm Schmidt telescope that was placed in the shadow of the LM to keep it cool and to shield it from the Sun glare. It is not working anymore as it was manually-operated and it was the first and only space telescope on the Moon until Chang’e 3 in 2013. Note the deployed tripod next to the LM ladder strut: it was supposed to hold the TV Camera while the astronauts off-loaded the LRV but it was never used and the TV Camera was directly fixed on the rover. Note the LRV deployment lanyards behind the tripod – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 16 (The Moon) – The ALSEP instruments. From left to right, the gray-colored RTG, the Central Station and a Thumper/Geophone cable red anchor. The Passive Seismic Experiment is in the foreground, its 75-cm large and highly reflective shroud is clearly visible from orbit when the Sun lights it – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 16 (The Moon) – Another view of the ALSEP site with the Mortar Package in the foreground and the Magnetometer above it in the background. The Central Station and the RTG are also visible in the upper left hand corner – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 16 (The Moon) – Astronaut Charles Duke’s family portrait. The photograph has since faded due to the high surface temperature and to the intense radiation – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 16 (The Moon) – LRV TV frame of the abandoned Lunar Module Orion Descent Stage. Loose equipment was left underneath the lander near the MESA area and the rod sticking out of the right footpad is one of the Lunar Surface Contact Probes – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 16 (The Moon) – LRO image of the landing site. Note how close the LM landed to a large crater. The ALSEP site is at the lower left and the LRV is parked in the black spot to the right. The bright spot in the ALSEP area is probably the highly reflective blanket of the Passive Seismic Experiment – Credit: NASA (2009)

Venera 8 (Venus) – Annotated post-landing artist view of the early Venera probe. The text reads from right to left: Parachute (after ejection) / Remote Antenna (before ejection) / Main Antenna / Light Sensors / Atmospheric Pressure and Temperature Sensors / Remote Antenna (after ejection) – Credit: Unknown (date unknown)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – The ALSEP site. Clockwise from the foreground are the LEAM experiment, the central pile of packing material, the Lunar Surface Gravimeter, the Central Station and the RTG. The long stick in the center of the picture is one of the two Universal Handling Tool – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – Another view of the ALSEP central pile of packing material. The RTG is at left and the LEAM Experiment above it in the background – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – An empty Sample Bag, probably #473, left on the surface next to the ‘Split Boulder’. However its shape is also consistent with a 20-Sample Bag Dispenser Assembly, so both are probably still fixed together since this Sample Bag was the last of its series – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – Another 20-Sample Bag Dispenser Assembly left empty inside Van Serg Crater – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – The flight of the hammer: thrown away by the LMP it landed halfway between the LM and the ALSEP site to the left – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – The blue box in the lower left-hand corner is the discarded Traverse Gravimeter Experiment. The black spots reflect that it hit the surface several times when it was thrown away by the CDR – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – Frame of the 16mm film shot at liftoff and showing the landing site. The Descent Stage is at the lower left, the ALSEP is at the top center and the crew tracks are visible in between – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – LRV TV frame of the abandoned Lunar Module Challenger Descent Stage. The white object laid against the LM footpad to the right is the Quad III Payload Pallet – Credit: NASA (1972)

Apollo 17 (The Moon) – LRO image of the landing site. The ALSEP site is at left and the LRV is barely visible to the lower right in a small black spot. The LRV tracks and crew footprints drawing a cross pattern to the right were done while installing the SEP 35-meter long antenna. Note the consistent tracks layout leading to the ALSEP site with the 16mm film shot at liftoff – Credit: NASA (2009)

Luna 21 (The Moon) – The landing platform viewed from the Lunokhod 2 rover. The black dots on the side of the lander are fuel and electrical connectors to the ejectable propellant tanks that were discarded during the approach phase – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1973)

Luna 21 (The Moon) – Another shot at the landing platform. Note how close the spacecraft landed to a large crater slope– Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1973)

Luna 23 (The Moon) – This LRO picture shows the complete probe lying on its side: it tipped over at landing. ‘D’ is the Descent Stage while ‘A’ is the stranded Ascent Stage – Credit: NASA (2012)

Venera 9 (Venus) – First-ever image of the surface of the planet. The object to the right is the soil Gamma-Ray Spectrometer – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1975), enhanced by Ted Stryk (date unknown)

Venera 10 (Venus) – The long white object at the bottom center of the image is the camera lens cover. These early lens caps were plagued by a design flaw that prevented most of them from being ejected after touchdown: both Venera 9 and 10 were half-blind (their second camera’s lens cap didn’t pop-up) while neither Venera 11 or 12 could see anything – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1975), enhanced by Ted Stryk (date unknown)

Viking 2 (Mars) – The Collector Head Protective Shroud is lying next to a series of trenches dug by the probe’s robotic arm. Note the probe’s #3 footpad in the foreground – Credits: NASA, JPL (1976)

Voyager 1 & 2 (Solar escape) – The ‘Voyager Golden Records’ are gold-plated copper, 30 cm diameter phonograph disks housed inside engraved, uranium-238-electroplated aluminum covers and fixed to the side of each probe. They are similar to the state-of-the-art 33-rpm LP vinyl record of their time, enhancing the probes’ time capsule status rather than space junk – Credits: NASA, JPL (1977)

Venera 13 (Venus) – Both newly-designed cameras lens caps are visible on the surface in front of the landing ring. The arm to the left of the bottom picture holds the soil penetrometer, drill and surface sampler – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1982), enhanced by Ted Stryk (date unknown)

Venera 13 (Venus) – Post-landing artist view of the second-generation Venera lander. Note the accuracy of the drawing: the lens cap is exactly at the same position as on the picture taken by the probe – Credit: Mattias Malmer (2020)

Venera 14 (Venus) – One of the camera lens cap landed right under the soil penetrometer which consequently returned the cap’s compressibility data instead that of the surface (bottom picture). The white object to the right of the arm is probably a piece of the broken lens cap – Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Roscosmos (1982), enhanced by Ted Stryk (date unknown)

Vega 1 & 2 (Venus) – Engineering model of the 3.4-meter diameter helium-filled ballon and the 1.3-meter long scientific instruments-laden gondola. They were both connected with a 13-meter long tether and the whole stack weighted 21.5-kg – Credit: Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian Institution (date unknown)

Mars Pathfinder (Mars) – TV frame of the Carl Sagan Memorial Station from the short height (28 cm) of Sojourner. Note the deflated airbags partially retracted under the spacecraft – Credits: NASA, JPL (1997)

Mars Pathfinder (Mars) – Computer-enhanced self-portrait of the Carl Sagan Memorial Station made with the IMP imager on top of a mast – Credits: NASA, JPL (1997)

Mars Pathfinder (Mars) – The Sojourner rover travelling among rocks, carefully monitored by the lander – Credits: NASA, JPL (1997)

Spirit (Mars) – Close picture of the landing platform. It was named ‘Columbia Memorial Station’ in honor of the STS-107 crew who died aboard the Columbia Space Shuttle the previous year. Note the deflated airbags folded underneath the abandoned lander – Credits: NASA, JPL (2004)

Spirit (Mars) – Computer-generated view of the current status of the rover. It became embedded in soft sand and the team couldn’t remediate the situation before the batteries were depleted. Note the tracks in front of the rover: it was running backwards since it had lost its right-front wheel drive and has been dragging the jammed wheel for more than three years – Credits: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Astro0 (2009)

Spirit (Mars) – One of the last pictures from the rover pointing out the left-front wheel stuck in the ‘Troy’ sand trap. Note the inoperative right-front-wheel to the right. The scene remains the same as of today – Credits: NASA, JPL (2010)

Opportunity (Mars) – The ‘Challenger Memorial Station’ landing platform set in a small depression. It was named in honor of the STS-51-L Space Shuttle Challenger crew who was lost on January 28th, 1986 – Credits: NASA, JPL (2004)

Opportunity (Mars) – The Heat Shield impact site: from right to left, the initial impact crater, parts of the Flank Heat Shield and the Main Heat Shield – Credits: NASA, JPL (2004)

Opportunity (Mars) – The Main Heat Shield, torn inside out, among springs and other items. This picture shows how difficult it is to list every single piece of loose hardware, especially after a breakup – Credits: NASA, JPL (2004)

Opportunity (Mars) – Computer-enhanced self-portrait of the filthy rover taken with the mast-mounted PanCam camera. It gives a good indication on how hardware looks like after several months on Mars, however dust is occasionally blown off by dust devils – Credits: NASA, JPL (2004)

Chang’e 5-T1 (The Moon) – The Manfred Memorial Moon Mission experiment (4M) fixed inside the equipment bay of the third stage of the rocket. The briefcase-sized payload consisted of an amateur radio and an ionizing radiation dosimeter. Note the antenna made out of several pieces of a steel tape. The rocket stage has since impacted the Moon – Credits: OHB, LuxSpace (2004)

Cassini (Saturn) – Post-landing artist concept of the Huygens probe on the moon Titan. The 3-meter diameter stabilizer chute is visible in the upper left hand corner. The landing site is now called the ‘Hubert Curien Memorial Station’ – Credits: ESA, NASA (2005)

Hayabusa (Asteroid 25143 Itokawa) – Close-up picture of the first Target Marker released during the landing approach rehearsal – Credit: JAXA (2005)

Hayabusa (Asteroid 25143 Itokawa) – The little white dot to the left of the probe’s shadow is the second Market Marker released on the surface. Target Markers helped the probe evaluate distances on a featureless surface – Credit: JAXA (2005)

New Horizons (Solar escape) – Among various commemorative items attached to the probe, a small container holding some of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh’s ashes was glued on the airframe. It is probable that the fixture has failed and that the little box was freed – Credits: NASA, JHU/APL (2006)

Phoenix (Mars) – NASA illustration of the yo-yo de-spin cables and masses being released in solar orbit once they’ve reduced the spin rate of the probe. The dark gray-colored spent injection booster will be discarded right after that – Credit: NASA (2007)

Phoenix (Mars) – The Planetary Society’s ‘Vision of Mars’ DVD-ROM fixed on the deck of the lander, next to a small U.S. flag – Credits: NASA, JPL (2008)

Ikaros (Solar orbit) – The solar sail pictured by the small DCAM2 wireless camera released in deep space for that purpose – Credit: JAXA (2010)

Curiosity (Mars) – Computer-enhanced self-portrait of the rover on the surface. Note its cleanliness that didn’t last very long – Credits: NASA, JPL (2012)

Curiosity (Mars) – After over ten years driving along on the surface of the planet, the rover’s aluminum wheels show some serious damage, however not to the point of endangering the mission. Note that the chevrons are still intact. Perseverance’s wheels were hardened – Credits: NASA, JPL (2022)

Chang’e 3 (The Moon) – Lunar Landing Vehicle viewed from the Yutu rover. The open hatch to the top left of the lander shields the 50-mm Ritchey–Chrétien Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope, the first long term lunar-based astronomical observatory – Credit: CNSA (2013)

Chang’e 3 (The Moon) – The Yutu rover strolling on the Moon one day… in the merry month of December too! – Credit: CNSA (2013)

Chang’e 3 (The Moon) – Close-up picture of the small Yutu rover. It would fit in a 1 cubic-meter box – Credit: CNSA (2013)

Rosetta (Comet 67P/Churyumo-Gerasimenko) – The small lander Philae shot by the probe right after its release. It moves away to land on the comet– Credit: ESA (2014)

Rosetta (Comet 67P/Churyumo-Gerasimenko) – Where is Philae? The lander is nestled into a ravine of the comet. Spoiler alert: take a look at the right edge of the picture – Credit: ESA (2014)

Rosetta (Comet 67P/Churyumo-Gerasimenko) – Mosaic of the first two images from Philae safely on the surface. One of the lander’s three feet can be seen in the foreground – Credit: ESA (2014)

Falcon Heavy Test Flight (Solar orbit) – Artist view of the Falcon Heavy upper stage and its Tesla Roadster fixed payload. Both tubular structures hold a camera, and a third one was placed inside the car, between the seats. The plaque with an ‘X’ underneath the vehicle bears the names of the employees who worked on the project – Credits: SpaceX, Nagualdesign (2018)

Falcon Heavy Test Flight (Solar orbit) – Front view of the Roadster and the dummy astronaut dubbed ‘Starman’ in deep space. The support frame of the left camera is visible to the right and the third camera is visible above the shoulder of the spacesuit. The little red object in the center of the dashboard is a Hot Wheels miniature Roadster with a Starman figurine – Credit: SpaceX (2018)

Falcon Heavy Test Flight (Solar orbit) – Shot from the camera fixed to the left support structure. The Sun lights up the Roadster and the dummy astronaut just as if they were in a studio doing a model shooting. Note the Earth and the support frame reflecting on the car’s red paint – Credit: SpaceX (2018)

Falcon Heavy Test Flight (Solar orbit) – View from the camera inside the car, next to the spacesuit. Apart from the Hot Wheels miniature Roadster on the dashboard, there’s a copy of a novel in the glovebox along with a towel and a 5D optical disc from The Arch Mission Foundation, the “Solar Library”. The whole stack will soon be bleached white under the harsh solar radiation, the windscreen will be darkened and all parts made of natural and synthetic products such as the rubber tires, the steering wheel’s and seats’ leather and the spacesuit’s woven fabric will soon be disintegrated. It is also probable that over time some parts of the dummy (e.g. the helmet and arms) become loose and separate. Note the message on the dashboard and, above it, the shadow of the front camera on the windscreen – Credit: SpaceX (2018)

Falcon Heavy Test Flight (Solar orbit) – Copy of the Arch Library containing the Isaac Asimov Foundation Trilogy. One of those 2.5-cm diameter 5D optical disks is in the glove box of the Roadster – Credit: Arch Mission Foundation (2018)

InSight (Mars) – Artist view of the probe on the surface with the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) shielded under the dome in the foreground and the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) next to it to the right – Credits: NASA, JPL (2018)

InSight (Mars) – Computer-enhanced self-portrait of the now-looking filthy spacecraft – Credits: NASA, JPL (2018)

InSight (Mars) – One of the last pictures from the probe. The SEIS dome is in the center with the Engineering cable sticking out of it, while the HP3 package is on the left and between it and the trenches, barely visible, are the buried Mole and its science cable. The object hanging from the top is the IDA robotic arm with the scoop in the retracted position and the five-digit grapple secured along the forearm. The scene remains the same as of today – Credits: NASA, JPL (2018)

Queqiao (Earth-Moon Lagrange Point L2) – Image of the relay satellite just after separation from the rocket’s third stage – CNSA (2018)

Queqiao (Earth-Moon Lagrange Point L2) – The Moon in the center of the picture and to its right the distant Earth seen from the vantage point. The shield at the top of the picture is the 4.2-meter diameter X-band antenna and the big box right in front of the camera is the NCLE radio-astronomy experiment – CNSA (2018)

Hayabusa2 (Asteroid 162173 Ryugu) – Blurry image taken by the Minerva II-1A ‘Hibou’ rover just after separation from the main probe. Hayabusa2 is the object at the top and below is the surface of the asteroid – Credit: JAXA (2018)

Hayabusa2 (Asteroid 162173 Ryugu) – The Mascot rover captured seconds before landing on the surface of Ryugu – Credit: JAXA (2018)

Hayabusa2 (Asteroid 162173 Ryugu) – The SCI (Small Carry-on Impactor), basically a cannon, is released while the main probe backs off to a safe distance. It will fire a projectile at the asteroid and will be destroyed in the process, sending its debris in solar orbit – Credit: JAXA (2019)

Hayabusa2 (Asteroid 162173 Ryugu) – Impact of the 2.5-kg copper projectile captured by the wireless deployable camera DCAM-3. The scale bar to the right is 25 meters in 5-meter intervals – Credit: JAXA (2019)

Hayabusa2 (Asteroid 162173 Ryugu) – The white ball at the bottom of the picture is Target Marker TM-A being released to the surface of Ryugu – Credit: JAXA (2019)

Hayabusa2 (Asteroid 162173 Ryugu) – The Minerva II-2 rover, viewed from the probe, on its way to the surface of Ryugu – Credit: JAXA (2019)

Chang’e 4 (The Moon) – The Lunar Landing Vehicle viewed from the Yutu 2 rover. It is the first spacecraft ever to land on the far side – Credit: CNSA (2019)

Chang’e 4 (The Moon) – Another shot at the Lunar Landing Vehicle from the Yutu 2 rover – Credit: CNSA (2019)

Chang’e 4 (The Moon) – The Yutu 2 rover also strolling on the Moon one day, but on the far side and in January – Credit: CNSA (2019)

Chang’e 4 (The Moon) – Close-up picture of the Yutu 2 rover – Credit: CNSA (2019)

Beresheet (The Moon) – One of the last pictures taken by the probe before it impacted the surface due to a descent engine malfunction – Credit: SpaceIL (2019)

Beresheet (The Moon) – Among the commemorative items on board the probe, the “Lunar Library I” is a 5D optical disk from the Arch Mission Foundation. All items were lost with the probe – Credit: Bruce Ha, Arch Mission Foundation, SpaceIL (2019)

Chandrayaan-2 (The Moon) – This LRO annotated picture of the Vikram lander crash site shows how large a debris field can be. In this particular case, the 1.4 ton lander is scattered over a 16 sq km area – Credit: NASA (2019)

Chandrayaan-2 (The Moon) – Post-landing artist view of the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover that never made it to the surface intact – Credit: ISRO (2019)

Chang’e 5 (The Moon) – The lander and ascent vehicles stack separates from the orbiter. The Moon is at the top right – Credit: CNSA (2020)

Chang’e 5 (The Moon) – A 50-cm wide Chinese National flag was erected on the Descent Stage. Unlike those of Apollo, it was designed to survive extreme temperatures and radiation to make sure that its colors will remain intact over the next decades. My personal guess is that China has planned to send Taikonauts walk on the Moon by 2049 and bring this flag back for the 100th anniversary of the revolution: the O-ring visible inside the flag staff is likely part of a release mechanism. The brackets at the back of the fabric suggest that it’s a single-sided flag; they probably belong to the unfolding system which is similar to the one applied in solar panel deployment for satellites – Credit: CNSA (2020)

Chang’e 5 (The Moon) – Part of the 3.6-meter long Coring Drill, one of the Lander footpad and, to the far right, the Chinese flag – Credit: CNSA (2020)

Chang’e 5 (The Moon) – The ascent vehicle lifts-off from the Moon. The bright light comes from the Sun, not from the ascent engine which can be seen to the left. Unlike the Luna probes that were sent to a direct trajectory to the Earth, the ascent stage transferred the lunar samples to the return capsule waiting in orbit – Credit: CNSA (2020)

Osiris-Rex (Asteroid 101955 Bennu) – The TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) arm close to the surface of the asteroid during the sampling procedure – Credit: NASA (2020)

Osiris-Rex (Asteroid 101955 Bennu) – The TAGSAM head captured seconds after the sampling procedure and showing some escaping material – Credit: NASA (2020)

Osiris-Rex (Asteroid 101955 Bennu) – Separated from the sampling arm, the TAGSAM head is secured into the Sample Return Capsule. The lid to the left will close to protect the sampling head during the journey back to Earth and the re-entry – Credit: NASA (2020)

Tianwen-1 (Mars) – The Zhurong landing platform viewed from the rover. Note that there are no backup ramps – Credit: CNSA (2021)

Tianwen-1 (Mars) – Family portrait of the mission surface hardware viewed from the small deployable wireless camera dropped on the surface – Credit: CNSA (2021)

Tianwen-1 (Mars) – The rover passes by the Zhurong landing platform back shell and parachute – Credit: CNSA (2021)

Tianwen-1 (Mars) – Portrait of the orbiter over the Northern Ice Cap taken by the deployable wireless camera released in orbit – Credit: CNSA (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – Hypersonic-impact crater of one of the two 77.5-kg tungsten Cruise Mass Balance Devices released during the Entry, Descent & Landing (EDL) sequence. They helped shifting the probe’s center of gravity during the atmospheric entry – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – Overhead view from the rover showing the Sky Crane delivering its payload on the surface – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – Seconds after releasing the rover on the surface the Sky Crane flies away to its fate. Note the dangling bridles and umbilical – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – The Adaptive Caching Assembly Cover was fixed under the belly of the rover and protected the instrument from dust and rock projections at landing – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – Ingenuity’s Debris Shield was also fixed under the belly of the rover and prevented the small helicopter from being damaged at landing – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – The Ingenuity helicopter drone – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – Ingenuity’s Debris Shield on the left and to the right, partially hidden by a rock, the Adaptive Caching Assembly Cover – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – The rover is barely visible in the top left-hand corner. It was captured by Ingenuity on its third flight – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – Ingenuity flies past the Sky Crane debris field up in the right-hand corner. A small piece of debris is also visible in the center of the picture. Note Ingenuity’s shadow – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – Pictured by Ingenuity, the scattered Back Shell still attached to the Main Chute. It shows how difficult it is to land on Mars: even a 21.5-meter wide parachute is unable to soft-land a 575-kg structure. Note Ingenuity’s shadow in the bottom left – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – A debris from the Back Shell stuck in an outcrop – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – A thread blown by the wind passes by the rover. It probably comes from the Main Chute or the Back Shell – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – Another piece of debris shattered either from the Back Shell or from the Sky Crane – Credits: NASA, JPL (2021)

Perseverance (Mars) – One of the ten sealed sample tubes dropped on the surface by the rover. These tubes are backups in case Perseverance is unable to deliver its body-cached tubes to the future Mars Sample Return Mission in 2033. In that particular case two helicopter drones similar to Ingenuity will collect these surface tubes and store them in the MSRM launcher – Credits: NASA, JPL (2022)

Perseverance (Mars) – Computer-enhanced self-portrait of the rover in the ‘Three Forks’ Sample Depot. The ChemCam is looking down at sample tube #9 while #8 is visible in the background between the dead-end tracks. Sample tubes #5, 6 and 7 are barely visible further back to the left and the remaining four are too far away on the left to be located – Credits: NASA, JPL (2023)

Dart (Asteroid 65803 Didymos 1 Dimorphos) – The probe separates from the injection stage and begins its journey to the double asteroid system – Credits: NASA, APL (2021)

Artemis 1 (The Moon) – Artist’s illustration of BioSentinel flying past the Moon. It is one of the ten similar-looking cubesats released in deep space during the mission – Credits: NASA, Daniel Rutter (2022)

Hakuto-R Mission 1 (The Moon) – Screenshot from SpaceX’s launch mission control showing the probe separating from the second stage and headed for the Moon. Note the speed which is close to the Earth escape velocity for that altitude – Credits: SpaceX, iSpace (2022)