Thread by @People_Of_Space

Just seen that this account has been newly followed by @SpaceCollecting - perfect timing as I’m sure I can’t be the only one drawn to collecting space related items. I’ll share some of mine - do share yours. Warning. This could take some time! Vinyl first...?

And the B side (for anyone under 30 or only brought up on digital this won’t mean anything!)

We also collect Xmas space decorations. Our tree is still up as couldn’t face the depressing loss of bling during another UK lockdown. When lockdown ends the tree comes down. This is Bella and Strelka - two ceramic canine cosmonauts. Bought in Moscow.

Belka and Strelka went into space in 1960 along with a rabbit, two rats and some fruit flies. This is them in non ceramic form (credit Alamy). The dogs did 17 orbits of the Earth and became celebrities on their return.

The space dog’s descendants can even be found in the United States - as Khrushchev gifted one of Strelka’s puppies, Pushinka, to Jackie Kennedy. Pushinka (Russian for fluffy) lived in the White House and had puppies with a US dog 🐕🐾

Here’s another bauble on the tree. It was a gift from when reporting on Beagle 2 mission for the BBC. It was due to land on Mars Xmas day, 2003. We waited for the signal... There was a devastating silence. It’s a reminder of the risks of space travel and missions - crewed or not.

The twist in this story was that in 2015, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE camera spotted the ESA craft. The images showed that it had landed intact but only 2 of 4 solar panels unfurled causing the loss of Comms. So close...

The ESA craft that transported Beagle 2, Mars Express, continues to successfully orbit the planet over 17 years later. This is one of its most recent images.

As I’ve often had to go to the States for work, quite a few of our baubles are from NASA space centres or space museums. I can’t be the only one to have these....

I mentioned Mojave Air and Spaceport earlier and forgot I have a Xmas decoration from there too :)