A Museum Tour Through Aviation History

Exploring the Planets and Stars (Galleries 111, 207, & 209)

For the sake of continuity, for this stop in our tour I've taken the liberty of combining exhibits from three different Museum galleries (111 - Stars, 207 - Exploring the Planets, and 209 - Where Next, Columbus) into what I've called the Exploring the Planets and Stars gallery.

Voyager Spacecraft
(1977)

Since the earliest days of the space race, the United States and Russia have sent unmanned spacecraft to the other major bodies of the solar system. Two of the most successful were the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft that were launched in 1977 to explore the outer solar system. Voyager 2 was launched first, in August 1977, on a looping trajectory that would take it past Jupiter (1979), Saturn (1981), Uranus (1986), and Neptune (1989) and then into interstellar space. Voyager 1 was launched in September 1977 on a more direct trajectory that took it past Jupiter (1979) and Saturn (1980) before shooting out of the plane of the solar system and into interstellar space. Both Voyager spacecraft carry plaques and laser discs with photographs and messages of greeting from Earth.

Hubble Space Telescope
(1990)

Launched by the space shuttle in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope had a rocky beginning because of defects in its main mirror. But after repair work by spacewalking astronauts, Hubble has become one of the most remarkably successful space science spacecraft ever. Its highly detailed photographs of the distant stars and galaxies have opened up our vision of the universe and our imagination as to what may lay beyond our solar system's neighborhood.

Experimental Martian EVA Space Suit
(21st Century)

[Historical photo not applicable]

The next major step awaiting mankind is the "hands-on" exploration of Mars, the planet of our solar system that is most like the Earth. Although visited by unmanned probes, such as Vikings 1 and 2 (1976) and the Mars Sojourner rover (1997), Mars is still an enigma and a tantalizing target for human exploration and possible colonization. The Experimental Martian EVA Space Suit pictured above is just one design being considered for eventual spacewalkers on Mars.

Starship Enterprise NCC-1701
(23rd Century)

No one knows what the future will bring in terms of man's continued exploration of space. But one very hopeful image of the future is presented by Gene Roddenberry's classic television series Star Trek and the stories told of the Starship Enterprise NCC-1701. Star Trek in all of its later variations tells of a hopeful future in which humankind will live in peace with each other and with countless other intelligent species populating the universe. It's a vision of the future that we can all look forward to.

The final stop in our grand tour of aviation history is a look at the connection between Flight and the Arts.

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003