White dunes from space, a small rover and a shuttle at dawn

Saturn V on its crawler-transporter heading for the launch pad1967

The crawler carried the giant rocket to the pad at about one mile per hour.

Photo: NASA · Public domain Source

White Sands and the Carrizozo lava beds in New Mexico, seen from Columbia during STS-3 in March 1982.1982

Columbia landed at White Sands, the only shuttle ever to land there, after bad weather ruled out Edwards in California.

Photo: NASA · Public domain Source

The Sojourner rover near three small rocks called 'The Dice' at the Mars Pathfinder landing site1997

About the size of a microwave oven, Sojourner was the first wheeled rover to explore Mars.

Photo: NASA/JPL · Public domain Source

Apollo 6 Saturn V seconds after liftoff, seen from a chase plane1968

This unmanned Saturn V test shook violently and lost two second-stage engines, yet still reached orbit.

Photo: NASA · Public domain Source

Discovery launches on STS-41, carrying the Ulysses solar probe1990

Ulysses was sent past Jupiter to loop over the Sun's poles, the first spacecraft to see them directly.

Photo: NASA · Public domain Source