Posted by NASA on The Commons An explanatory drawing of the NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application)thermodynamic nuclear rocket engine. The main objective of project Rover/NERVA was to develop a flight rated engine with 75,000 pounds of thrust. The Rover portion of the program began in 1955 when the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's Los…

Posted by NASA on The Commons Apollo 12 Commander Pete Conrad exits the Lunar Module and steps onto the Moon. Image Number: AS12-46-6717 Date: November 19, 1969 Tags: Pete Conrad, Apollo 12 Source

Posted by NASA on The Commons After achieving the goal of landing on the moon, the crew of Apollo 11 (Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin) returned home to Earth on July 24th, 1969. Upon splashing down, the Apollo 11 crew underwent a 21 day quarantine. The purpose of this was to protect against…

Posted by NASA on The Commons The Apollo 1 crew patch Astronauts: Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee On January 27, 1967 a fire swept through the cabin during a launch rehearsal killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. The name Apollo 1 was formally assigned to the mission in the spring…

Posted by NASA on The Commons An Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen as it launches from Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Thursday, January 9, 2014, Wallops Island, VA. Antares is carrying the Cygnus spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Orbital-1 mission is Orbital Sciences' first contracted…

Posted by NASA on The Commons An Atlas V rocket with NASA's Juno spacecraft payload is seen the evening before it's planned launch at Space Launch Complex 41 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Thursday, August 4, 2011. The Juno spacecraft will make a five-year, 400-million-mile voyage to Jupiter, orbit the…

Posted by NASA on The Commons Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., pilot, walks away from Pad 19 following postponement of the Gemini XI space flight. The mission was rescheduled for September 12, 1966. Image Number: s66-50775 Date: September 10, 1966 Tags: Astronaut, Apollo, Gemini Source

Posted by NASA on The Commons Engineers at the NACA's Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, now NASA's Langley Research Center, celebrate summer with this lighthearted photo of themselves wearing shorts, some combined with knee-high socks, one warm day in 1930. Image Number: EL-1999-00358 Date: September 3, 1930 Tags: NASA Langley Research Center, Langley Research Center, Langley…

Posted by NASA on The Commons This artist's concept depicts the hardware NASA astronauts might use on a crewed mission to the Red Planet. The artist, Pat Rawlings, depicts Pavonis Mons, a large shield volcano on Mars' equator overlooking the ancient water eroded canyon in which the base is located. Hardware seen here include the…

Posted by NASA on The Commons Panorama view of Apollo 17 lunar surface photos for Station 1 at the Taurus-Littrow landing site taken during the first moonwalk of the mission by Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison (Jack) Schmitt. Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt is holding the rake and the Lunar Roving…