Science Art: Mercury Spacecraft, by McDonnell/NASA

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This funny looking can with the tower on top was America’s first ride into space. Wasn’t very big. Didn’t have a lot of electronics. Not so many moving parts. But it worked.

Thanks, NASA.

If you click the picture, you’ll see the little squiggles on the photo are actually the autographs of the people who rode it.

Tags: space exploration