40 years of Space exploration

Hi Here is a recent issue on 40 years of Space Exploration by Cayman Islands. This issue also celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009. Cayman Islands Postal Service issued a set of six stamps to commemorate Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, taken on Monday, 21 July 1969.These stamps illustrate the evolution of space exploration from the Apollo 11 trip; to the International Space Station; to other milestones along the way, including the Mars Rover landings, Hubble telescope images, and space shuttle dockings. The details of the stamps are given below. This is all for today's Post....Till Next Post....Have a Great Time !..

The 25¢ stamp shown above depicts the STS 71 launch and the first space shuttle docking to Mir, a Russian space station, on 27 June, 1995.

The other stamps not shown here feature following pictures.

The 20¢ stamp shows the Mars Rover, a robotically- operated spacecraft that propels itself across the surface of Mars after landing. The primary objectives of the spacecraft was to determine whether life ever arose on Mars; document the climate and geology of the planet; and pave the way for human exploration.

The 75¢ stamp features the Hubble telescope, which was carried into orbit by the space shuttle Discovery in April 1990. A joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, the Hubble gives the most detailed visible-light images ever made of the universe’s most distant objects.

The $1 stamp commemorates Apollo 11. Launched on 16 July 1969, it was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. With their accomplishment, crewmembers Commander Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. etched their names in history.

The final stamp in this series is $1.50, which is of the International Space Station, the largest artificial satellite in Earth’s orbit. In-orbit construction started in 1998, and is expected to be completed by 2011. The space station is a joint project among the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, and several European countries, with involvement from Brazil.

The $2 souvenir sheet is a painting by astronaut Alan Bean of the Hadley Rille, which is a deep, snake-shaped canyon on the moon.