PIX4643577: Bepicolombo will be a mission to explore the planet Mercury, carried out jointly by the Japanese Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Its launch is scheduled in October 2018, to reach Mercure in 2025. Two probes form the Bepicolombo mission, the Mercury Planet Orbiter (DFO), which will perform a complete mapping of the surface of Mercury and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), which will study the Mercurian magnetosphere. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4643590: Bepicolombo will be a mission to explore the planet Mercury, carried out jointly by the Japanese Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Its launch is scheduled for October 2018, to reach Mercure in 2025. Two probes form the Bepicolombo mission, the Mercury Planet Orbiter (DFO), which will perform a complete mapping of the surface of Mercury, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), which will study the Mercurian magnetosphere. On his 7-year journey, the probe will pass twice near Venus. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639704: European Astronaut on Mars - Illustration - European Astronaut on Mars - Illustration - A European astronaut robs the soil of March in 2030. Artist's view. An european spacewoman walking on the martian surface in 2030 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4640020: Base sur Mars - Illustration - Mars Ice Home concept - Artist's view of an inhabited base on Mars. Inflatable housing concept surrounded by a layer of ice. The “” Mars Ice Home”” is a large inflatable torus, a shape similar to an inner tube, that is surrounded by a shell of water ice. The Mars Ice Home design has several advantages that make it an appealing concept. It is lightweight and can be transported and deployed with simple robotics, then filled with water before the crew arrives. It incorporates materials extracted from Mars, and because water in the Ice Home could potentially be converted to rocket fuel for the Mars Ascent Vehicle, the structure itself doubles as a storage tank that can be refilled for the next crew. Another critical benefit is that water, a hydrogen-rich material, is an excellent shielding material for galactic cosmic rays - and many areas of Mars have abundant water ice just below the surface. Galactic cosmic rays are one of the biggest risks of long stays on Mars. This high-energy radiation can pass right through the skin, damaging cells or DNA along the way that can mean an increased risk for cancer later in life or, at its worst, acute radiation sickness / Bridgeman Images

PIX4640029: The Colonization of Mars - Illustration - Mars Colony: Artist's view of an inhabited base on Mars. A manned habitat on the surface of Mars / Bridgeman Images

PIX4640078: Experience Mars500 - Mars500 experiment facility in Moscow - Installed at the Russian Institute of Bio-Medical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow, the 550 m Seal Simulator consists of an interplanetary spacecraft and a Martian lander, and features a Martian landscape. The Mars500 experience is a Martian mission simulation that began on June 3, 2010. The crew locked up for 520 days consists of six people. They are Italian-Colombian Diego Urbina (27) and Frenchman Roman Charles (31) selected by ESA, Russian Sukhrob Kamolov (32), Alexey Sitev (38), Alexandr Smoleevskiy (33) and Chinese Wang Yue (26). March 500, the first full-length simulated mission to Mars, started on June 3 2010 when the six-man crew entered their 'spacecraft' and the hatch was closed. The experiment will run until November 2011. Diego Urbina and Romain Charles from Europe, Sukhrob Kamolov, Alexey Sitev, Alexandr Smoleevskiy and Wang Yue from China face a mission that is as close as possible to a real space voyage without leaving the ground. During 520 days, they will live and work like astronauts, eat special food and exercise in the same way as crews aboard the International Space Station / Bridgeman Images

PIX4640224: Space lift on the Moon - Artist's view - Lunar elevator lunar base - Lunar base equipped with a space lift. A manned lunar space elevator prepares to depart from its manned lunar base. Surrounding it are support facilities and cargo. The yellow machine on the right is an articulated manned manipulator for handling cargo and managing the elevator. The space elevator concept involves running a cable from the surface of a planet or moon up to a gravitationally - stable point in space, whereupon a specially - designed vehicle can climb and descend the cable. Also known as tether propulsion and non-rocket space launch, this method permits an alternative way to access space. In the case of the lunar space elevator, the cable is anchored to the surface of the Moon and ascends to a stable Lagrange point. In this illustration the cable, in the form of a ribbon, is anchored to the southern hemisphere of the near - side of the Moon and ascends approximately 35,000 miles towards the Earth. The manned climbing vehicle, the “” elevator,””” is powered by solar energy collected via its array of photovoltaics. The manned elevator illustrated is approximately 160 feet long. Traveling at a velocity of roughly 60 mph it would take the elevator about 3 weeks to cover the distance between the lunar surface and Lagrange point in space / Bridgeman Images

PIX4640425: Hyperespace - Artist view - Hyperspace - Artist view - Artist view - Artist view of a ship capable of interstellar journeys thanks to technology allowing to contract space - time. Artwork of a spaceship contracting spacetime / Bridgeman Images

PIX4640655: Space Shuttle of the Future - Artist's View - Terrene shuttle on launch pad - Artist's view of a space shuttle of the future on his shooting pitch. An imagined space shuttle of the future is readied for launch at twilight illumed by gantry lighting. This shuttle is referred to as “” terrene”” (meaning “” of the Earth”) to differentiate it from other space shuttles that may one day operate from the surface of the Moon and other planets / Bridgeman Images

PIX4640761: Clayton Anderson Extravehicular Release 07/2007 - Clay Anderson extravehicular activity 07/2007: Clayton (Clay) Anderson Extravehicular Release. ISS - Expedition 15. 23/07/2007 23 July 2007. Anchored to the Canadarm2 foot restraint, astronaut Clay Anderson, Expedition 15 flight engineer, removes the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS) from its place on the International Space Station during a session of extravehicular activity (EVA). Anderson later jettisoned the EAS by shoving it opposite of the station's direction of travel. The EAS was installed on the P6 truss during STS-105 in August 2001, as an ammonia reservoir if a leak had occurred. It was never used, and was no longer needed after the permanent cooling system was activated last December. The blackness of space and Earth's horizon provide the backdrop for the scene. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4640957: Back to Earth of Samantha Cristoforetti - 06/2015 - Samantha Cristoforetti helped out of the Soyuz TMA-15M capsule -06/2015: Back to Earth of the Soyuz TMA-15M capsule on June 11, 2015. On board, astronauts Terry Virtz, Anton Shkaplerov, and Samantha Cristoforetti. All three remained in the International Space Station (ISS) for more than six months. The Italian Samantha Cristoforetti is to date the longest time in space, with a flight lasting 199 days and 16 hours. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Russian commander Anton Shkaplerov landed safely on 11 June 2015 in the Kazakh steppe after a three-hour ride in their Soyuz spacecraft. They left the International Space Station at 10:20 GMT at the end of their six-month stay on the research complex. Terry Virtz, Anton Shkaplerov, and Samantha Cristoforetti are returning after more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 42 and 43 crews. Samantha Cristoforetti stayed 199 days in space and so became the holder of the record for the longest single mission for a woman. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641043: Astronaut Thomas Pesquet - English astronaut Thomas Pesquet - Official portrait of the spationaut Thomas Pesquet. Pesquet is the tenth Frenchman to go into space. Mission Proxima, expedition 50 (November 2016-May 2017). / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641136: Thomas Pesquet in weightlessness - Thomas Pesquet in ISS: French astronaut Thomas Pesquet takes pictures of the Earth in the International Space Station (ISS). 28 December 2016 - Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) is taking pictures in the International Space Station / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641159: Thomas Pesquet in weightlessness - Thomas Pesquet in ISS: The French astronaut Thomas Pesquet in the European Colombus module of the International Space Station (ISS). 7 December 2016 - ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet is seen floating inside the Columbus module aboard the International Space Station. Pesquet is on his first flight to space and is a flight engineer for Expeditions 50 and 51 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641225: Thomas Pesquet in the International Space Station (ISS) - Thomas Pesquet in ISS: French astronaut Thomas Pesquet makes his daily sport on board the International Space Station (ISS). January 4, 2017. Thomas Pesquet is exercising in the International Space Station. January 4, 2017. / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641303: ISS and inflatable module - Large habitat and ISS: Artist's view of a large inflatable module (much larger than all existing modules) installed on the International Space Station (ISS). A live module or CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle) type Orion prepares to moor to the inflatable module. A manned Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) prepares to dock with a spacious inflatable habitat attached to the International Space Station (ISS) at an altitude of 250 nautical miles. This inflatable habitat, much larger than any existing ISS module, is a combination of layers of flexible material capped by sturdy docking hardware at either end. The inflatable portion is collapsed and sandwiched between the docking hardware portions for launch from earth and then inflated and pressurized with a breathable atmosphere once in orbit. The habitat features a pair of 42 x 24 inch windows to the outside. The habitat is attached to a pressurized module of the ISS via a Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) while the other end of the habitat features an International Docking System Standard (IDSS) system for docking with manned spacecraft. The inflatable portion of the habitat is 45 feet long with a maximum diameter of 28 feet. Including docking hardware the total length is 55 feet. The interior of the habit, sans storage and other equipment, provides approximately 17 thousand cubic feet of micro gravity living space. The CEV is 33 feet long with a maximum diameter of 20 feet while the solar voltaic panels have a maximum spread of a little over 60 feet / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641383: Fusee Proton - ExoMars - Proton rocket Launch - ExoMars: Decollage of a Proton rocket with the ExoMars probe on board. 14 March 2016 - ExoMars 2016 lifted off on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan at 09:31 UTC on 14 March 2016 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641495: Mercury: Portrait of Astronauts - Mercury program Astronaut group portrait. Front row (from l. to r.): Walter Schirra, Donald Slayton, John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. Back row (from l. to r.) Alan Shepard, Virgil Grissom and Gordon Cooper. Jul 01 1962 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641827: Mercury - Atlas 7: view of decollage - Liftoff of Mercury 7 carrying Scott Carpenter from Pad 14. Cape Canaveral, Florida. May 24 1962. May 24 1962 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641957: Mir station. V.Polyakov - The Mir station seen from Discovery - Valeriy Polyakov at the Mir window during the stowage of the space station with the shuttle Discovery. 06/02/1995. Cosmonaut Valeriy Polyakov, who boarded Russia's Mir space station on Jan 8 1994, looks out Mir's window during rendezvous operations with the Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS - 63 mission. Feb 06 1995 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4641987: Mir Station 07/1995 - Mir Space Station seen from the Atlantis Shuttle. 04/07/1995. Views of the Russian Mir space station over the Earth's horizon taken from the space shuttle Atlantis during the STS - 71 mission / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638661: Faux de Verzy - Marne - Dwarf Beech - Faux de Verzy - France - Tortuosa (Fagus Sylvatica var Tortuosa). This remarkable tree is a rare beech variety with contorted branches and trunk, the origin of which remains unknown. The Faux site has been classified nationally since 1932. It became a State Biological Reserve in 1981. Dwarf Beech (Fagus sylvatica Tortuosa Group). Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638687: Vines of the Old College of Jesuites - Reims - Three hundred years old vines - Reims - Three hundred years old vines - Reims - Three feet of three hundred hundred years old vines among the oldest vineyards in France (330 years old), classified as historical monuments. Scriptures testify to their presence in 1678. Vines among the oldest in France - Ancien College des Jesuites - Reims, Champagne-Ardenne / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638743: Lunar base -Illustration - Lunar base - Illustration - Artist's view of a lunar base with inflatable habitat, a solar power supply system, and an oxygen extraction system. An inflatable habitat similar to this could represent part of an outpost, forerunner to a permanent inhabited lunar base. The artist has depicted here, along with the inflatable habitat a construction shack and related solar shield, connecting tunnel regolith bags for radiation protection, thermal radiation experimental six-legged walker, solar power system for the lunar oxygen pilot plant and other elements / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638779: Oxygen plant on the Moon-Artist view - Lunar oxygen factory - Artist view - Artist view of a plant on the Moon providing oxygen from the lunar basement / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638872: A spaceship takes a lunar vehicle - Artist's view - Space tug and lunar lander in Earth orbit - A tug spacecraft in Earth orbit takes a lunar vehicle to the Moon. With the space tug firmly docked with the lunar lander, the two will function as a single spacecraft for the duration of a 3-day trip to the moon. The pair would likely spend some time in Earth orbit prior to departure, checking systems and preparing the lander for its eventual journey to the Moon's surface. The lunar lander pictured here has capacity for a crew of four plus cargo. The space tug itself could have a crew of two, making the total crew capacity of the joined spacecraft about the same as today's Space Shuttle / Bridgeman Images

PIX4638985: Back to the Moon: artist's view from the start to the Moon - The Orion spacecraft onward to Moon - Lunar program Constellation. The module inhabited Orion is secured to the planing module in Earth orbit and propels to the moon through a stage of the Ares 5 rocket. Ares 5 is a cargo rocket that will be used around 2020 to carry the landing module as well as the various elements needed to build a base on the Moon. This is a NASA artist's rendering of the Orion crew exploration vehicle docking with the Altair lunar lander, contained within the earth departure stage of an Ares V rocket. This rendezvous will take place in low earth orbit before the earth departure stage, Orion and Altair make the transit towards the moon. The earth departure stage will be discarded on the way / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639041: Back to the Moon: Arrival in Lunar Orbit - Artist's View - The Orion and Altair spacecrafts in lunar orbit - Lunar Program Constellation. The module resides Orion docks to the Altair planing module in orbit around the Moon. Orion should be able to take a crew of astronauts to the Moon in 2020. The Orion manned spacecraft, docked to the lunar module Altair, in lunar orbit. The Nasa's Project Constellation plans to send human explorers back to the Moon by 2020, and then onward to Mars; each Orion spacecraft will carry a crew of four to six astronauts / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639046: Space exploration: MPCV module - Artist view - The MPCV spacecraft in space - The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) above Earth. This capsule should be able to take a crew of six astronauts to an asteroid, the Moon or to take men to Mars. Here, the vehcule is connected to an additional housing module for a mission of more than three months. The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a spacecraft project currently being developed by Lockheed Martin for NASA. Based on specifications and tests already performed for the Orion spacecraft. It was announced by NASA on 24 May 2011. For even longer missions the Deep Space Vehicle (DSV) could be mated with an Extended Stay Module (ESM). The ESM would offer additional life support and accommodations for a crew of three or four for deep space missions lasting 90 days or longer / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639123: Space exploration: Soyuz spacecraft - Artist's view - Soyuz deep space explorer over the Moon - A spaceship inhabits Soyuz TMA-M increases by a housing module for three astronauts and a rocket top floor, joins the Moon. A manned Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft docked with a three-person extended stay module soars over the Moon with the aid of a Russian-made upper stage booster rocket. The upper stage booster is on the left with the Soyuz spacecraft on the right and the extended stay module in the middle of the assembly / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639150: Space Exploration: Soyuz and Orion Ships - Artist's View - CEV-Soyuz Joint Mission - An American Orion ship mooring has a Soyuz TMA-M spaceship during a distant space exploration mission. Here, the ship is approaching a satellite stationed at a point in Lagrange. Illustration. An Orion class Crew Exploration Vehicle (AKA Deep Space Vehicle) is paired with a Soyuz TMA-M manned spacecraft for a joint deep space rendezvous with a satellite parked in a gravitationally stable Lagrangian point about 1 million miles beyond the orbit of the Earth's Moon. At this position, in this case a Lagrangian point 2, or L2, the Earth is between the spacecraft and the Sun resulting in the Earth eclipsing much of the Sun's light, however at this distance the Earth does not subtend an angle large enough to cover the entire disk of the Sun. What's visible of the Sun is a brilliant ring of light illuminating the spacecraft. (The streamers of light around the Sun are not the Sun's corona, but rather a way of illustrating the brilliance of the Sun's light as it may appear to the human eye.) The manned spacecraft is directing a spotlight on a hypothetical satellite in order to better examine it. The core of this satellite is protected from the Sun via an attached shade like its real-world L2 counterparts the Herschel and Planck Space Observatories, and the James Webb Space Telescope currently under construction / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639164: Space Combination Test - Space follows test - Test of the new Mark III space suit, as part of the American return to the Moon program. Arizona Desert, October 2004. Dean Eppler, equipped with a Mark-III suit, takes a stroll in Arizona's high desert as part of a NASA-led team using the rugged terrain and variegated climate to try out prototype spacesuits and innovative equipment that may help America pursue the Vision for Space Exploration to return the Moon and travel beyond. October 2004 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639181: Space Combination Test - Space follows test - Astronaut Andrew J. (Drew) Feustel is testing the new Mark III space suit, simulating a 10-kilometre walk, as part of the American return to the Moon program. Johnson space center, May 2006. Attired in a Mark III advanced space suit technology demonstrator, astronaut Andrew J. (Drew) Feustel participates in a 10-kilometer extravehicular activity (EVA) “” walk-back” test in the pogo test area of the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center. Data collected in the test will be used in development of the next generation of space suits that are being designed for use in the Constellation Program. May 2006 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639206: Lunar Vehicle Prototype - Crew Mobility Chassis Prototype - Crew Mobility Chassis Prototype as part of the constellation program that is expected to take men to the Moon around 2020. The Crew Mobility Chassis Prototype is Nasa's new concept for a lunar truck. Researchers are trying it out at Moses Lake, Wash., as part of a series of tests of lunar surface concepts. One feature is its high mobility. Each set of wheels can pivot individually in any direction, giving the vehicle the ability to drive sideways, forward, backward and any direction in between - important if the truck becomes mired in lunar dust, needs to zigzag down a steep crater wall or parallel park at its docking station. NASA currently is building the spacecraft and systems to return to the moon by 2020 / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639287: Lunar vehicle test. Program constellation - Lunar vehicle test. Constellation program - Lunar vehicle test as part of the Nasa constellation program that is expected to take men to the Moon around 2020. Here, a prototype of a pressurized vehicle (Lunar Electric Rover) that would allow future astronauts to travel long distances. For three days, astronaut Michael Gernhardt and geologist Brent Garry lived independently in the real conditions of exit to the Moon. Brent Garry gets out of the vehicle by putting on a pressurized suit. October 2008, Arizona, USA. During tests conducted for NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) at Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona, engineers, geologists and astronauts gathered to test two configurations of NASA's newest lunar rover prototype. The pressurized version, seen here and called the Lunar Electric Rover, includes a suitport that would allow crew members to climb in and out of spacesuits quickly for moonwalks. Here, Smithsonian Institution geologist Brent Garry donates his suit / Bridgeman Images

PIX4639316: Robonaut2, the Next Generation Dexterous Robonaut 2, designed by Nasa and General Motors, is a humanoid robot designed to assist humans on Earth and in space. Robonaut2 - or R2 for short - is the next generation dexterous robot, developed through a Space Act Agreement by NASA and General Motors. It is faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced than its predecessors and able to use its hands to do work beyond the scope of previously introduced humanoid robots. Robonauts are designed to use the same tools as humans, which allows them to work safely side-by-side humans on Earth and in space / Bridgeman Images