Debating which images should or shouldn’t have been ranked, and how high, would be an appropriate way to mark the past half century of NASA’s accomplishments. We welcome the discussion we know this list will spark. Although a satellite had returned a picture of the whole Earth in 1967, it wasn’t until humans saw this view for the first time a year later that it entered our collective mind. This particular shot was from Apollo 17, but all of the moon-bound astronauts took similar photos. Used significantly by the environmental movement (although NOT, as often reported, the inspiration for Earth Day). Topping the list is the view of the whole Earth above, arguably the most influential image to come out of the American space program. Our only excuse is that the ranking reflects the affinity of the division of space history staff for space topics. We also recognize that, even though the first “A” in NASA stands for “aeronautics,” our list is light on aeronautical breakthroughs. This includes more than 1,000 images and 1.8 billion pixels. Raw images of Mars taken by the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity Mars helicopter in Jezero Crater. NASA's Curiosity rover captured its highest-resolution panorama of the Martian surface in late 2019. Raw images of Mars taken by the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity Mars helicopter in Jezero Crater. Photos from the Apollo moon program predominate, as well they should-it remains the agency’s crowning achievement. Images from the Mars Perseverance Rover - NASA Mars. The list omits significant events from space history that were not NASA achievements, such as the famous 1958 photograph of Wernher von Braun and the other architects of the Explorer 1 satellite celebrating their success by holding a model of the satellite over their heads, an event that occurred months before NASA existed. Many wonderful images did not make the final cut-we couldn’t convince the editors to give us 20 pages instead of 10. Speculation has been rife in recent days over a mysterious photo taken by Nasa’s Mars Curiosity rover. Resuspended volcanic ash from Katmai, Alaska. Hovering 40 feet from the surface, Ingenuity shared an epic photo of Mars rolling hills, even including NASAs Perseverance rover in the snapshot. The rationale for why any one image ranked two slots higher than any other combines several factors, including our attempt to balance the list between human spaceflight, satellite imaging, and planetary exploration. This enhanced color image of NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was taken by the Mastcam-Z. We recognize that any such ranking is inherently subjective. One of six instruments aboard the agency’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, CRISM produced global maps of minerals on the Red Planet’s surface. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which began its operations on October 1, 1958, we offer this list of the 50 most memorable images from NASA’s history ( see all 50 in the photo gallery below).
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