Conference Gallery

Carl Sagan, US astronomer

Carl Edward Sagan (1934-1996), US astronomer and astrochemist. Sagan was a consultant and adviser to NASA, and worked on the Apollo mission, as well as the Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo space probes and planetary exploration programs. He proposed theories to explain the high temperature of Venus, the seasonal changes on Mars, and the reddish haze of Titan. He was a prominent sceptic and populariser of science, writing many books on the subject. He also campaigned for nuclear disarmament, and spoke at the conference of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in Moscow in the summer of 1987. Photographed in 1987, in Moscow, Russia

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Tupolev and Chelomei, Moscow, 1980

Alexei Andreyevich Tupolev (1925-2001, left), Soviet aircraft designer, and Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomei (1914-1984, right), Soviet rocket engineer. They are Deputies of the USSR Supreme Soviet, and are talking during a break in the USSR Supreme Soviet's fourth session (tenth convocation). Tupolev, the son of the famous aircraft pioneer Andrei Tupolev, worked on the world's first supersonic passenger jet, the Tupolev Tu-144. Chelomei worked on rockets following World War II, including early cruise missiles and ICBMs. He later worked on the Soviet space programme. Photographed in 1980, in Moscow, Russia

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Astronaut Virgil ?Gus? Grissom receives the NASA Distin?

Astronaut Virgil ?Gus? Grissom receives the NASA Distinguished Service Medal from James E. Webb, NASA Administrator, right, during a news conference at Cape Canaveral, the day after his sub-orbital flight, which had reached an altitude of 118 miles, 22 July 1961. Looking on are Grissom?s wife, Betty, and their two sons Scott and Mark. Date: 1961

© The Royal Aeronautical Society (National Aerospace Library)/Mary Evans Picture Library