In Pictures: Exploring Mars with Curiosity
In Pictures: Meteors
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Dancing with the Stars
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Black Holes
In Pictures: Space Photos of the Day: Asteroids
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Visions of the future
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Massive Storms
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Gas giants
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Heavenly Rings
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Female Astronauts
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: The Moon
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: A Blue Planet
On June 3, 1965 Edward H. White II became the first American to step outside his spacecraft and let go, effectively setting himself adrift in the zero gravity of space. For 23 minutes White floated and maneuvered himself around the Gemini spacecraft while logging 6,500 miles during his orbital stroll.
This interior view of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM) shows astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., lunar module pilot, during the lunar landing mission. This picture was taken by astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander.
Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan is holding the lower corner of the American flag during the mission's first extravehicular activity (EVA), on Dec. 12, 1972.
National Aeronautics and Space Adminstration's Langley Research Center scientists use this plexiglass space station airlock test model to determine astronauts' ability to move in and out through an airlock with the restraint of a pressurized suit. Operations in space that call for crew transfer between spacecraft require airlocks of some kind.
Astronaut Ernst Messerschmid wears a breathing mask on the treadmill at the German Center for Air and Space in Oberpfaffenhofen during the Preparations on the Spacelab Mission in 1985.
The docked Apollo 9 command and service modules and lunar module conduct the first docking maneuvers in space. This image was taken on the fourth day of the Apollo 9 Earth-orbital mission by lunar module pilot Russell L. Schweickart of David Scott, command module pilot, in the open hatch of the command module.
NASA test pilot Neil Armstrong is seen here next to the X-15 after a research flight. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 feet long with a wingspan of 22 feet. It was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage.
Astronaut 'Buzz' Aldrin, lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the lunar surface.
Two members of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission participate in a simulation of deploying and using lunar tools on the surface of the Moon during a training exercise on April 22, 1969. Astronaut Aldrin (l.), lunar module pilot, uses a scoop and tongs to pick up a soil sample. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, holds a bag to receive the sample. In the background is a Lunar Module mockup.
Hearses wait for the transfer of crew remains after the disaster on the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
Astronaut Virgil I. Grissom climbs into 'Liberty Bell 7' spacecraft the morning of July 21, 1961. Backup Astronaut John Glenn assists in the operation. The Mercury-Redstone 4 successfully launched the Liberty Bell 7 at 7:20 am EST on July 21, 1961. MR-4 was the second in a series of successful US manned suborbital flights.
Astronaut Jack R. Lousma, Skylab 3 pilot, is seen taking a hot bath in the crew quarters of the Orbital Workshop of the Skylab space station cluster in Earth Orbit. This picture was taken with a hand-held 35mm Nikon camera.
Astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan, 41-G mission specialist, uses binoculars for a magnifed viewing of Earth through Challenger's forward cabin windows.
The Gimbal Rig, formally known as the MASTIF of Multiple Axis Space Test Inertia Facility, was engineered to simulate the tumbling and rolling motions of a space capsule and train the Mercury astronauts to control roll, pitch and yaw by activating nitrogen jets, used as brakes and bring the vehicle back into control.
Three astronauts participating in Apollo desert survival training in Washington state pose with Air Force Col. Chester Bohart (2nd r.). Standing from left to right are Charles M. Duke, Jr., Thomas K Mattingly, Col. Bohart, and John L. Swigert. Since the Mercury Program, astronauts have taken survival courses in case they are forced to land on a remote part of the Earth where they may need to do without human help for several weeks.
Apollo 16 astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., pilot of the Lunar Module 'Orion,' stands near the Rover, Lunar Roving Vehicle at Station no. 4, near Stone Mountain, during the second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity at the Descartes landing site. Light rays from South Ray crater can be seen at upper left.
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/14
In Pictures: Keffiyeh is rebel chic
Gallery: Tea Party politics
In Pictures: Latin America's fight against drugs and violence
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/13
In Pictures: Look up! The wonders of modern architecture
In Pictures: Exclusive! with Barbara Walters
In Pictures: Exploring Mars with Curiosity
In Pictures: A chance to pray at the Western Wall
The blue moon Friday is on the same day of a private memorial service for Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. A blue moon occurs when there's a second full moon in one calendar month. It won't happen again until July 2015.
There's a rare 'blue moon' on Friday, a fitting wink to Neil Armstrong by the cosmic calendar.
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