Orbiting Gallery

Alexei Leonov, first space walk, 1965

First space walk. Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov (born 1934), outside the Voskhod 2 spacecraft in a spacesuit on 18 March 1965, while orbiting the Earth (in the background). This was the world's first extravehicular activity (EVA), or space walk. Voskhod 2 had launched earlier that day, and Leonov exited the spacecraft at 08:30 UTC. He remained outside for 10 minutes, before trying to re-enter. Because his suit had ballooned while outside, he had to let some of his air out before he could successfully re-enter. Cameras mounted on the airlock were meant to record the space walk, but most had to be abandoned due to the problems with Leonov's spacesuit. The CCCP on Leonov's helmet refers to the USSR

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Ernest Rutherford, caricature

Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937). Caricature of the New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford, with an electron orbiting his head. Rutherford's early work on radioactivity at McGill University in Canada led to his 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His most famous work took place in 1909 at the University of Manchester, England. The Geiger-Marsden experiment fired helium ions (alpha particles) at thin gold foil. The resulting scattering pattern led to the Rutherford model of the atom. From 1919 to his death, Rutherford directed the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. He was knighted in 1914, and made Baron Rutherford of Nelson in 1931. He was buried in Westminster Abbey

© GARY BROWN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Manned maneuvring unit space walk, 1984

Manned maneuvring unit space walk, 1984. Astronaut Bruce McCandless floats free above the Earth in his manned manoeuvring unit (MMU) on 7th February 1984, during the 10th space shuttle flight (mission 41B). McCandless, who helped design the MMU, was the first person to fly it, thus becoming the first "human satellite" in orbit around the Earth. The MMU is propelled by small nitrogen thrusters which are controlled by the astronaut's hands. Because no umbilical cord attaches the astronaut to the spacecraft, it gives much greater mobility than was available to earlier spacewalkers. Mission 41B was launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on 3rd February 1984, and landed back at KSC on 12th February

© NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY