Since the first manned landing on the moon in 1969, the world has been fascinated with the exploration of different planets for many reasons, one of these being the desire to answer the ever present question in society of whether life can exist in places besides Earth. Since then, scientists all over the world have made huge advancements in answering such questions with the developments of tools such as rovers, the Space Shuttle program, and the International Space System.
Furthering the search for life on other planets, scientists recently targeted Mars and began to research its climate, the role of water, and most importantly, the possibility of life there. The Curiosity rover, a complex robot, was created by NASA and launched in November 2011. Landing very recently, on August 6, 2012, the Curiosity rover is bigger than any other Mars rover and also has much more advanced technology and many more tools than other rovers to date. It could potentially answer many questions about the landscape of Mars and even the possibility of human missions there, so it is an extremely innovative tool in the scientific community.
Such advancements in space technology have been continuous since the 1960s, with the first Apollo missions. Pioneering these missions and being the first people to land on the moon, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are now well-known names and will be a part of history forever. University Archives offers a large collection of items related to aeronautics and the early space program, including photographs and letters signed by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, fragments of the Apollo missions, and even a signed postal cover that was carried to the moon and back.
In taking a look at our website, we hope that our Apollo related items will be of interest to you, as they are a significant piece of history and something that many people today remember from the late 1960s. As NASA research continues, the boundaries of space advancements are endless, and the importance of aeronautics is sure to grow in the future as more discoveries are made. Such items that we offer within this category are of great importance, and in selling them we hope to further the appreciation of the space program and its accomplishments.