APOD7

This is the Cydonia region on Mars. The picture was taken by the Mars Express Orbiter, a satellite orbiting Mars that determines the composition and structure of Mars' surface, sub-surface, and atmosphere. The image shows an area about 90 kilometers wide. When the sun hits this mesa from the correct angle, the famous face on Mars is visible. The features in the Cydonia region are the result of erosion and landslides.

APOD6

On the way to the large Victoria Crater on Mars, the Opportunity Rover came across the smaller Beagle crater. The crater is eroded, indicating it is far from new. The crater is named after the HMS Beagle, which helped Darwin develop his theory of natural selection.

APOD5

September 9th, 2006 the space shuttle Atlantis launched for the international space station. The shuttle weighs about 2 million kg, heavier than the Statue of Liberty. The international space station orbits the earth every 92 minutes, and is still in the process of being assembled. It will take 40 total expeditions to complete the space station.

APOD4

This is a picture of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The picture is mostly of gas clouds and dust, which prefers to gather around young stars (pictured as clouds with a red glow). The picture is actually a mosaic, taken with infrared light, and is 1,000 times sharper than any previous pictures taken of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. This galaxy is also a satellite to our own.

APOD3

This is a 3D picture of Apollo 17's lunar rover in the Taurus-Littrow moon valley. In the background is the lunar module. Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were the two astronauts of Apollo 17's crew to walk on the moon. They spent about 75 hours there and are the most recent astronauts to walk on it. The rover has a camera on the front so that as the lunar module left the moon, the ascent could be broadcasted.