Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age

The Science Museum's immense collection of Russian artifacts and spacecraft tell a remarkable story of exploration and courage

It’s been nearly 60 years since Laika the dog became the first living creature to orbit the Earth, and 54 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Both those milestones were Soviet ones—a result of Russia’s fascination with space, a subject explored in a new exhibition at London’s Science Museum. “Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age” features multiple Russian spacecraft and artifacts …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

NASA's lunar photo album, virtual reality to help with dieting and more in this week's look at the web

1. How Virtual Reality Can Help With Dieting At Tokyo University’s Cyber Interface Lab, researchers are exploring the ways virtual reality can influence the way we see, taste and experience different foods. Using a head-mounted camera and virtual reality display, scientist Takuji Narumi has found a way to give a single cookie five distinct flavors, just by manipulating the way it looks and smells. He’s …

NASA Released Thousands of Apollo Mission Images

Throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, astronauts took thousands of photos as they made their way to the surface of the Moon. After years of scanning and digitizing them, NASA has finally published the treasure trove of high-quality images to Flickr for all to see. Over 8,400 photos have been uploaded to the account and depict everything from astronauts shaving in their spacecraft cabins to majestic …