Back in 2017, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) opened the digital doors to its image and video library website, allowing the public to access more than 140,000 images, videos, and audio files. The collection provides unprecedented views of space.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Moon landing, interest in what exists beyond our planet and solar system has reached a fever pitch and NASA is feeding public curiosity about its research and missions.

While work on robotic and human spaceflight already existed, a quick entry into the Space Race against the Soviet Union was deemed critical as they were way ahead of the US at the time. NASA officially began operations on Oct. 1, 1958, as the primary organization for U.S. civil aerospace research and development. In just 11 years, NASA landed the first human on the moon in 1969.

In the 1970s, the focus shifted to developing a space station. Skylab was launched, unmanned, in May 1973. Three crewed missions followed during the next seven months to repair the station and conduct experiments. The first international space station partnership was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, which brought American and Soviet crews together for the first time.

The space shuttle program became fully realized in April 1981 with the manned launch of the Columbia. In the 135 missions flown using five shuttles, there were sadly two catastrophic accidents – Challenger and Columbia both witnessed by a global audience on live TV. The Challenger incident would delay the planned 1986 delivery of the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit by the Space Shuttle Discovery. That mission would eventually take place successfully on April 24, 1990. The 30-year shuttle program was significant in building a foundation for future Earth-to-orbit transportation and sustained space stays.

Shuttle technology led to the construction of the International Space Station, the largest structure humans have put into space. Two hundred thirty people from 18 countries have lived there since 2000, conducting experiments and documenting life in space and its subsequent effects on the human body and psyche.

Achievements like these make up the substance of the NASA Image and Video Library, featuring the best of the agency’s work in aeronautics, astrophysics, Earth science, human spaceflight, and more.

Updated in 2019, the library is searchable, includes historical and current images; and all assets are downloadable. Stacker combed through this abundant collection reveal the 20 of the most breathtaking images.

The moon from Apollo 11

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin made history by landing on the moon while pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit. While returning home on July 21, the crew captured this picture of the full moon. As Earth’s only natural satellite, this ever present body has captivated mankind as it circles us from an average distance of 238,900 miles away.

Earth from the International Space Station

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured an image of Earth from 250 miles over Australia. Airglow – the orange hue – comprises diffuse bands of light created by atoms colliding in the atmosphere near the interface of Earth and space. Studying airglow is helping scientists to understand the connections and correlations between Earth weather and space weather.

Hurricanes on Earth

Several large hurricanes were brewing in the Atlantic Ocean in September 2017. By assembling several images taken in one day by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, NASA could provide a vibrant look at this weather pattern. Views like this help communities make decisions regarding disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

Shuttle space walk

In 2006, NASA astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang continued construction on the International Space Station (ISS). Below them lie New Zealand and Cook Strait in the Pacific Ocean. The ISS must be maintained and repaired regularly so that its inhabitants can complete missions and experiments through to at least 2024.

Shuttle in silhouette

An ISS crewmember captured a picture of the space shuttle Endeavour as it neared docking in February 2010. It was Endeavour’s 10th flight to the ISS with the mission of delivering Tranquility (a berthing, life support, and exercise module) and Cupola (a robotics work station).

Eruption on the sun

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory documented a dramatic solar event on March 2, 2012. This explosion, appearing on the right side of the sun in the photograph, is called a “prominence eruption.” The prominence is made up of plasma – matter in an ultra-high-energy state even more volatile than gas – and can loop thousands of miles into space.

Raikoke volcano eruption

Raikoke Volcano sits on the remote Kuril Islands in the Pacific Ocean. On June 22, 2019, an ISS crew member captured an image of the volcanic plume of Raikoke’s first eruption in almost one hundred years. NASA satellites tracked the plume for activity that might affect aviation and climate.

Rover selfie

The Curiosity Mars rover provided a selfie as part of its 1,065th day of work on Aug. 5, 2015. A combination of multiple images taken by its Hand Lens Imager, the picture shows Curiosity on a rock called “Buckskin” on Mount Sharp.

The mission to drill into Buckskin and collect a sample for analysis was successful in finding silica, which may show that liquid water once existed on Mars.

Cargo craft docks

The unmanned Cygnus cargo craft – the SS John Young – was photographed attaching itself to the International Space Station in November 2018 with a delivery of 7,400 pounds of supplies. The spacecraft was named after John Young, NASA’s longest-serving astronaut, who was an integral part of missions to the moon and the space shuttle program.

John Young on the moon

As part of the first extravehicular activity of its mission, Apollo 16 commander John W. Young jumps off the lunar surface while saluting the American flag in April 1972. The fifth mission to land on the moon, Apollo 16 spent over 20 hours on the surface, drove 16.6 miles in the lunar rover, and returned with 210 pounds of samples.

Canadian aurora

The snowy Quebec landscape is illuminated by the stars, the moon, and the aurora borealis in this picture from February 2012. Taken from the ISS, the image also shows airglow along the horizon. The Manicouagan Crater, seen in the lower right, was created by an asteroid impact approximately 214 million years ago.

Helix Nebula

Launched in 2003, the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope is orbiting 353 miles above Earth. In 2007, it took an infrared image of the Helix nebula (sometimes referred to as the “Eye of God”). This nebula is in the constellation of Aquarius, 650 light-years away.

The cracking Brunt Ice Shelf

In January 2019, NASA captured an image of Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf as it neared a substantial break that will release an iceberg twice the size of New York City. The crack, at the top right of the image, is called the “Halloween crack,” as it first appeared in October 2016.

Cassini’s capture of Saturn

Cassini was in space for 20 years on a mission to explore Saturn and its rings and moons. In 2016, it took several images with a wide-angle camera which were combined to create one full depiction of the planet. Cassini completed its work, having delivered images and science results, by plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere.

The heart of Madagascar

A 2018 photograph of the heart of Madagascar shows great landscape changes in the region as captured from the ISS by NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold. The world’s fourth-largest island is experiencing the decimation of rainforests because of the demand for its unique resources.

The last landing

In 2011, the 30-year space-shuttle program ended as Atlantis touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. With five shuttles and 355 space flyers, the program completed 135 missions. Today, Atlantis is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors’ Center.

The eye of the hurricane

The International Space Station captured the eye of a Category 4 hurricane in September 2018. Moving across the Atlantic toward the Carolinas, the hurricane’s winds were clocked at 130 miles per hour. Florence reached landfall on Sept. 14 with record-breaking storm surge and rainfall.

International Space Station

During their separation on July 19, 2011, space shuttle Atlantis took this photograph of the International Space Station.

Russian cosmonauts Andrei Borisenko, Sergei Volkov, and Alexander Samokutyayev, Japan Aerospace Exploration astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and NASA astronauts Mike Fossum and Ron Garan were all aboard the ISS. The shuttle astronauts were Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandy Magnus, and Rex Walheim.

Watercolor of the sea

Taken from observational satellite Landsat-8 in June 2018, this image of the Chukchi Sea illuminates colorful blooms of phytoplankton. Cool nutrient-rich water from the Bering Sea meet warm, less-salty Alaskan coastal water to create these patterns. The blooms can be seen even through deep Arctic ice cover.

The Great Red Spot of Jupiter

During a close pass of Jupiter in February 2019, NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured the gas giant planet and its Great Red Spot, which is the site of a massive storm on the planet’s surface.

Although it has been continuously observed since 1830, earlier observations from 1665 to 1713 are believed to be of the same storm; if this is correct, it has existed for at least 360 years.

This view was created by citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill by compiling multiple images and data from the JunoCam. Juno was launched in 2011 and reached Jupiter in 2016. Its sole mission is to explore, study, and map the planet.