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The NASA Archives: From Project Mercury To the Mars Rovers: 60 Years in Space
60 Years in Space with NASA
Journey through the U.S. space program’s fascinating pictorial history
On October 1, 1958, the world’s first civilian space agency opened for business as an emergency response to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik a year earlier. Within a decade, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, universally known as NASA, had evolved from modest research teams experimenting with small converted rockets into one of the greatest technological and managerial enterprises ever known, capable of sending men to the moon aboard gigantic rockets and of dispatching robot explorers to Venus, Mars, and worlds far beyond. In spite of occasional, tragic setbacks in NASA’s story, the Apollo moon project remains a byword for American ingenuity; its winged space shuttles spearheaded the International Space Station and its dazzling array of astronomical satellites, robotic landers, and earth sciences programs have transformed our understanding of the cosmos, and our home world’s fragile place within it.
Throughout NASA’s 60-year history, images have played a central role. Who today is not familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope’s mesmerizing views of the universe, or the pin-sharp panoramas of Mars from NASA’s surface rovers? And who could forget the photographs of men walking on the moon?
Researched and edited in collaboration with NASA, this collection gathers more than 500 historic photographs and rare concept renderings, scanned and re-mastered using the latest technology, and reproduced with black matte borders that protect the pages from fingerprints. Texts by science and technology journalist Piers Bizony, former NASA chief historian Roger Launius, and best-selling Apollo historian Andrew Chaikin round out this comprehensive exploration of NASA, spanning from its earliest days to its current development of new space systems for the future.
The NASA Archives is more than just a fascinating pictorial history of the U.S. space program. It is also a profound meditation on why we choose to explore space, and how we will carry on this grandest of all adventures in the years to come.
Journey through the U.S. space program’s fascinating pictorial history
On October 1, 1958, the world’s first civilian space agency opened for business as an emergency response to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik a year earlier. Within a decade, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, universally known as NASA, had evolved from modest research teams experimenting with small converted rockets into one of the greatest technological and managerial enterprises ever known, capable of sending men to the moon aboard gigantic rockets and of dispatching robot explorers to Venus, Mars, and worlds far beyond. In spite of occasional, tragic setbacks in NASA’s story, the Apollo moon project remains a byword for American ingenuity; its winged space shuttles spearheaded the International Space Station and its dazzling array of astronomical satellites, robotic landers, and earth sciences programs have transformed our understanding of the cosmos, and our home world’s fragile place within it.
Throughout NASA’s 60-year history, images have played a central role. Who today is not familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope’s mesmerizing views of the universe, or the pin-sharp panoramas of Mars from NASA’s surface rovers? And who could forget the photographs of men walking on the moon?
Researched and edited in collaboration with NASA, this collection gathers more than 500 historic photographs and rare concept renderings, scanned and re-mastered using the latest technology, and reproduced with black matte borders that protect the pages from fingerprints. Texts by science and technology journalist Piers Bizony, former NASA chief historian Roger Launius, and best-selling Apollo historian Andrew Chaikin round out this comprehensive exploration of NASA, spanning from its earliest days to its current development of new space systems for the future.
The NASA Archives is more than just a fascinating pictorial history of the U.S. space program. It is also a profound meditation on why we choose to explore space, and how we will carry on this grandest of all adventures in the years to come.
468 pages, Hardcover
First published February 20, 2019
46 people are currently reading
387 people want to read
About the author
Piers Bizony
38 books25 followersPiers Bizony is a science journalist and space historian who writes for magazines such as Focus and Wired as well as the Independent. His award-winning book on Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey was described as 'full of sparkling enthusiasm' by the New Scientist and 'excellent, in every way worthy of Kubrick's original precision-crafted vision' by the Evening Standard.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 29, 2019
Aus Anlass ihres 60. Geburtstags, öffnete die amerikanische Raumfahrt-Agentur NASA ihre Archive, die der Taschen-Verlag in diesem opulenten und eindrucksvollen Bildband verwertete. Der schwergewichtige und hochwertige Bildband (der auch mit 100 € einen "hochwertigen" Preis hatte) zeigt nicht nur die ikonischen Bilder, die fast jeder Mensch auf der Erde schon gesehen hat, wie den Fußabdruck Armstrongs auf dem Mond, oder die Moon-Earth-View von Apollo 8, die Bilder der JPL-Raumsonden von Planeten und Monden oder die schönen Aufnahmen des Hubble-Space Teleskops etc.pp.); der Großteil der über 500 Fotographien und Konzeptdarstellungen sind noch nie zuvor veröffentlicht worden. Der überschwere Band zeichnet die historische Entwicklung der NASA von den Anfängen bis zu den heutigen Missionen nach. Dabei wird der Schwerpunkte auf die menschliche Seite der Raumfahrt gelegt. Bilder nachdenklicher, erschöpfter, enthusiastischer Astronauten vermitteln einen Eindruck davon, wie rau der Weg zu den Sternen war. Und wie gefährlich: Auch die tragischen Katastrophen werden nicht ausgespart....
Die Texte im Buch sind auf Englisch, aber der deutschen Ausgabe ist ein Heft mit der deutschen Übersetzung beigefügt. Das Händeln mit der Übersetzung ist etwas mühselig, zumal das Lesen des kiloschweren Bandes keine Bettlektüre ist. Es läd aber zum Schmökern und zum Träumen an und ist ein Blickfang in jeder Bibliothek und sicherlich ein "Muß" für jeden Raumfahrt-Enthusiasten...
Die Texte im Buch sind auf Englisch, aber der deutschen Ausgabe ist ein Heft mit der deutschen Übersetzung beigefügt. Das Händeln mit der Übersetzung ist etwas mühselig, zumal das Lesen des kiloschweren Bandes keine Bettlektüre ist. Es läd aber zum Schmökern und zum Träumen an und ist ein Blickfang in jeder Bibliothek und sicherlich ein "Muß" für jeden Raumfahrt-Enthusiasten...
September 26, 2024
Ich habe mir die kleine Version des Buches aus dem Taschen Verlag gekauft. Wunderschön
October 20, 2023
A well curated collection of photographs, illustrations, excerpts, and information about America's space agency, The NASA Archives is interesting and beautiful. There are iconic photographs alongside more esoteric illustrations and mementos of the voyage into the black, which are supported with informative captions and a narrative that covers the major milestones of the various programs: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the Shuttle program, ISS, and beyond.
Overall, enjoyable but far more about capturing how far we've come: from the tiny "backyard" rockets of the 1930s and 40s to the current ability to download fresh photographs from the surface of Mars.
Space is nuts.
Overall, enjoyable but far more about capturing how far we've come: from the tiny "backyard" rockets of the 1930s and 40s to the current ability to download fresh photographs from the surface of Mars.
Space is nuts.
May 12, 2024
Wonderfull pictorial history of 65 years of NASA missions from Redstone rockets to Saturn Vs, and on to space shuttles, space stations, and planned missions back to the moon and Mars. Great photography. Wish we were there.
December 6, 2021
For me, not so much a book to read but a book to look at and savour the spectacular photography documenting 60 years of US space exploration. The large format, high quality paper and printing are a treat. With the Apollo programme an inspiring part of my early teenage years, I absolutely loved this book.
The narrative is linear and straightforward and there are probably much more detailed and interesting books about NASA, but some of the historical records and comments from individual astronauts are worth dipping into.
The narrative is linear and straightforward and there are probably much more detailed and interesting books about NASA, but some of the historical records and comments from individual astronauts are worth dipping into.
July 4, 2024
The pictures are out of this world. Definitely a book worth collecting
August 11, 2022
“The NASA Archives” by Piers Bizony, published by Taschen Books is a stellar collection of photographs, essays and excerpts exploring the first sixty years of NASA in space, from Project Mercury to the Mars Rovers. This coffee table book features stunning photographs and artwork touching on the various programs run throughout the first sixty years of the agency’s history and the people who made it happen. Bizony, who also published a book commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the Shuttle program, is well-versed and provides a coherent and logical presentation of events. Andrew Chaikin, author of the well-known “A Man on The Moon” and Dr. Roger Launius, author of “Apollo’s Legacy” and former chief historian of NASA both contribute excellent essays that deepen our understanding of NASA’s accomplishments and complement the images presented. Interview excerpts from astronauts like Michael Collins and from NASA administrators and directors, including James Webb and Gene Kranz are peppered throughout, giving a firsthand perspective to many of the major events and pivotal moments. This book is an incredible addition to any space-lover’s collection.
July 15, 2019
Piers Bizony, author of The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s '2001: A Space Odyssey', wrote for publisher Taschen another book you want to have, The NASA Archives: 60 Years in Space. This is a broad history of NASA and its achievements, plus a large collection of visual material, all packaged for the space geek in you. And, boy, does this work!
In its over 450 pages, of which photos and pics and diagrams cover at least half, the book explains everything from the humble beginning of NASA to its Moon landing (1969) to its involvement with the burgeoning space industry and the International Space Station, to its participation in the scientific study of the universe (renewed in the late 2010s and beyond).
The book has six main chapters: (0) an intro about space exploration; (1) The Rocket's Red Glare about establishing the NASA space program as core US policy; (2) This New Ocean on landing a man on the Moon and the subsequent petering out of the Apollo program; (3) Islands in the Sky on the replacement of visionary NASA administrator James Webb with the pragmatic James Fletcher and shifting the focus to Space Transportation Systems (STS/Space Shuttle missions); (4) Pale Blue Dot on Skylab and international cooperation aiming to chart the solar system and understand life in space, and telescopes of various shapes and sizes from Hubble Space Telescope (1990s) through the Cosmix Background Explorer (COBE led to the 2006 Nobel Prize for physics, for John C. Mather and George Smoot) to the James Webb Space Telescope (exp. 2020); and (5) The Final Frontier, an outro about the hybrid and fully autonomic spaceships.
The quality of the visual material is amazing. The images are printed high-quality and their selection is very good as well. Many of the photos are available from NASA itself, but finding and selecting them alone would take quite a bit of time, let alone placing them in the proper chronological and contextual order.
The writing is high-level, but calling it introductory would do a disservice to the vast amount of information from political, managerial, and technical domains. There's much about personality and courage, also through vignettes from the main heroes. We learn about the complex political context and how the managers of NASA navigated it. We oberve how the management practices at NASA needed to change industry and army practices, which could nkt have delivered results while keeping the public interested. We understand why the journalism surrounding the program was vital for getting needed funding, but also required unprecedented focus on safety and on transparency. The engineering aspects are also well developed. Perhaps lacking is the explanation of the scientific and design challenges, and of the main results in these dimensions.
Perhaps the only weak spot of the work is the design of the book. Although all the materials are high-quality, due to the size of each visual its associated description is often difficult to locate, and the poor notation and linking make finding the figure-captions particularly difficult. Increasing the reading difficulty is also the interruption of the text describing the main narrative, first by odd-sized visuals and their misplaced captions, second by short narratives collected from some of the main heroes of the main narrative; albeit interesting, these interrupt the main flow and are often so misplaced that they are difficult to link to the current storyline. Reflowing the entire book would be a nice improvement.
To finish on a positive, the entire book is outstanding and its reading issues surmountable. After all, what's not to like about a book that features everything from 'a giant leap for mankind' to Oumuamua, the odd-shaped astrobody discovered Oct 2017?
Link:
The Goodreads book
In its over 450 pages, of which photos and pics and diagrams cover at least half, the book explains everything from the humble beginning of NASA to its Moon landing (1969) to its involvement with the burgeoning space industry and the International Space Station, to its participation in the scientific study of the universe (renewed in the late 2010s and beyond).
The book has six main chapters: (0) an intro about space exploration; (1) The Rocket's Red Glare about establishing the NASA space program as core US policy; (2) This New Ocean on landing a man on the Moon and the subsequent petering out of the Apollo program; (3) Islands in the Sky on the replacement of visionary NASA administrator James Webb with the pragmatic James Fletcher and shifting the focus to Space Transportation Systems (STS/Space Shuttle missions); (4) Pale Blue Dot on Skylab and international cooperation aiming to chart the solar system and understand life in space, and telescopes of various shapes and sizes from Hubble Space Telescope (1990s) through the Cosmix Background Explorer (COBE led to the 2006 Nobel Prize for physics, for John C. Mather and George Smoot) to the James Webb Space Telescope (exp. 2020); and (5) The Final Frontier, an outro about the hybrid and fully autonomic spaceships.
The quality of the visual material is amazing. The images are printed high-quality and their selection is very good as well. Many of the photos are available from NASA itself, but finding and selecting them alone would take quite a bit of time, let alone placing them in the proper chronological and contextual order.
The writing is high-level, but calling it introductory would do a disservice to the vast amount of information from political, managerial, and technical domains. There's much about personality and courage, also through vignettes from the main heroes. We learn about the complex political context and how the managers of NASA navigated it. We oberve how the management practices at NASA needed to change industry and army practices, which could nkt have delivered results while keeping the public interested. We understand why the journalism surrounding the program was vital for getting needed funding, but also required unprecedented focus on safety and on transparency. The engineering aspects are also well developed. Perhaps lacking is the explanation of the scientific and design challenges, and of the main results in these dimensions.
Perhaps the only weak spot of the work is the design of the book. Although all the materials are high-quality, due to the size of each visual its associated description is often difficult to locate, and the poor notation and linking make finding the figure-captions particularly difficult. Increasing the reading difficulty is also the interruption of the text describing the main narrative, first by odd-sized visuals and their misplaced captions, second by short narratives collected from some of the main heroes of the main narrative; albeit interesting, these interrupt the main flow and are often so misplaced that they are difficult to link to the current storyline. Reflowing the entire book would be a nice improvement.
To finish on a positive, the entire book is outstanding and its reading issues surmountable. After all, what's not to like about a book that features everything from 'a giant leap for mankind' to Oumuamua, the odd-shaped astrobody discovered Oct 2017?
Link:
The Goodreads book
June 8, 2025
Glorious read. Story is linear enough to read cover to cover but disjointed enough and with enough incredible photography to be an effective coffee table book as well. I didn’t realise how essential the political brain of James Webb was in making NASA a success in the 1960s, and how many close calls there were across all the missions. Still can’t really believe there weren’t more accidents. I usually have mixed feelings about the value of space travel while our planet is dying but this presents a compelling argument for the value of these endeavours.
October 2, 2025
As you'd expect, full of both eye-rolling jingoism and extremely impressive photography. What I did NOT expect was the sloppiest copyediting I've ever seen in a professional publication. Typos so obvious the previous reader at the library had noted them in the margins; John 1:1 labeled as Genesis 1:1; and then of course there's the absolute howler of a line that says it's "impossible to underestimate" the human tragedy of the Challenger disaster. Taschen, please send me some freelance work—I will do a better job than this and my rates are very reasonable.
September 15, 2025
As an absolute lover of space and space travel, I loved this book. Of course, it brings mainly NASA history to the table, leaving many other narratives of the history of space behind. But, if you want to delve into what NASA represents and what it did for humankind and human space travel, it's definitely a book to read. The photographs are great witnesses to its history, also being archival, some of them are really hard to find from other sources.
December 28, 2020
A superb summary of NASA’s first sixty years. The text is somewhat introductory, but the real star is the large scale photography. Even pictures which are already familiar become fresh, packed with detail, and drawing the viewer in more deeply.
August 24, 2024
Lovely book! Astonishing and makes you dream about reaching the final frontiers. You follow the NASA's history from the top and vividly through the main characters involved in its creation. A book that you must have in your collection if you are fan of the space and its exploration.
September 24, 2025
Un libro fotografico meraviglioso. Ma non solo le foto sono splendide, anche i testi sono da leggere. Assolutamente da leggere per tutti gli appassionati di spazio, specialmente per quelli che lo hanno vissuto come una parte indimenticabile della loro adolescenza.
September 11, 2022
Beautiful book.
August 11, 2023
Veľmi pekná kronika.
September 7, 2024
Excellent read and the pictures are exceptional
December 31, 2024
mal som dokonca aj zimomriavky 🚀
July 14, 2025
Very nice book. It will take you from the beginning of the agency to the moon and beyond.
Nice descriptions, stories, and beautiful images.
Nice descriptions, stories, and beautiful images.
November 9, 2025
Fascinating story of NASA . A combination of historical account , transcripts and amazing and captivating photographs . A hard read in some places due to the technical jargon/data
September 8, 2023
A beautiful introduction to what NASA‘s been up over the years.
February 21, 2020
Absolutely amazing. Well written accounts and details of everything NASA from Mercury through Apollo, ISS, and current satellites. Image quality is astounding on each page. Very thoughtful reflection both on exploring outward and introspection from space looking on our pale blue dot.
March 16, 2019
Simply excellent. Caught it at the library. Metallic inks are fantastic.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews