Extravehicular Activity Gallery

Skylab 3 Close-Up

A closeup view of the Skylab space station photographed against an Earth background from the Skylab 3 Command/Service Module during station keeping maneuvers prior to docking. The Ilba Grande de Gurupa area of the Amazon River Vally of Brazil can be seen below. Aboard the command module were astronauts Alan L. Bean, Owen K. Garriott, and Jack R. Lousma, who remained with the Skylab space station in Earth's orbit for 59 days. This picture was taken with a hand-held 70mm Hasselblad camera using a 100mm lens and SO-368 medium speed Ektachrome film. Note the one solar array system wing on the Orbital Workshop (OWS) which was successfully deployed during axtravehicular activity (EVA) on the first manned Skylab flight. The parasol solar shield which was deployed by the Skylab 2 crew can be seen through the support struts of the Apollo Telescope Mount

© NASA

Astronauts release a weather balloon on the surface of Titan

A titanian explorer prepares to release a weather balloon while another directs a flood lamp to illuminate the activity. On the left is a supply cart with a portable weather station, featuring an interactive control panel designed to accommodate hands enclosed in thick gloves. All exposed hardware would have to function at temperatures of minus 300A° F and below.
With an atmosphere 10 times denser than the Earth's, weather would be of keen interest to Titan's visitors. High in Titan's atmosphere wind velocities in excess of 400 mph have been detected. While not much is known about winds and weather at Titan's surface, terrain features resembling dune fields have been observed, suggesting surface winds have occurred at some locations. Fogs of methane gas would likely be present at the surface as well

© Walter Myers/Stocktrek Images

Illustration of astronauts setting up a base on the Martian surface around their

Illustration of astronauts setting up a base on the Martian surface around their lander vehicle. The first human visitors to Mars would face an environment nearly as hostile as the Earth's Moon. While Mars has an atmosphere, it contains no breathable oxygen and is so thin that the surface air pressure is about the same as the Earth's 18 miles above sea level. To venture outside, humans would need hardy suits that would supply pressure, oxygen, moisture, warmth, and insulate them from the fine martian dust that may be both abrasive and chemically reactive. Even with these precautions, humans would still be vulnerable to radiation from solar storms and the continual rain of interstellar cosmic rays

© Walter Myers/Stocktrek Images