At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger, Bruce McCandless II
was further out than anyone had ever been before. Guided by a Manned Maneuvering Unit
(MMU), astronaut McCandless, pictured above, was floating free in space. McCandless and
fellow NASA astronaut Robert Stewart were the first to experience such an "untethered space
walk" during Space Shuttle mission 41-B in 1984. The MMU works by shooting jets of nitrogen
and has since been used to help deploy and retrieve satellites. With a mass over 140
kilograms, an MMU is heavy on Earth, but, like everything, is weightless when drifting in orbit.
The MMU was replaced with the SAFER backpack propulsion unit.
Possibly the most talked-about, debated and controversial picture in history, the picture of the moon landing has been seen as a feat of human engineering at its best, and has been speculated as a hoax by contractors of the event. Those in doubt of the authenticity of the picture have come up with many suggestions as to why and how it might have been faked. However, none of the accusations have been proved correct and the debate continues in some circles. For many, though, it provides a sense of accomplishment and acheivement by the human race to send a man to the moon, which for years was considered an impossibility. The American flag also installs national pride in the US as the winners of the so-called "Space Race", and their establishment as the world's one remaining super power.
On July 22, 1975, Stanley J. Forman took this infamous photograph while working for the Boston Herald. He climbed on the back of a fire truck as it raced towards a reported fire at Marlborough Street. Just as the crew had arrived at the scene, a young woman and small girl fell from an apartment above. The woman died instantly, but the young girl lived. This photo earned Forman a Pulitzer prize, and in addition, convinced Boston and several other cities to introduce more comprehensive fire safety laws.
This example of emotive imagery is of child in Uganda holding hands with a missionary. The stark contrast between the two people serves as a reminder of the gulf in wealth between developed and developing countries. Mike Wells, the photographer, took this picture to show the extent of starvation in Africa. He took it for a magazine, and when they went 5 months without printing it, he decided to enter it into a competition. However, Wells has stated that he is against winning a compeition with a picture of a starving boy.
On August the 29th Katrina hit Louisiana, most notably New Orleans where 80% of the city flooded because the flood protection system was breached in more than fifty places. The hurricane caused over $80 billion in damages and over 1800 people were confirmed to have died with over 700 missing.
On December 26th 2004 a 9.3 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami which killed more than 225,000 people in 11 countries. The waves which hit the coastlines were as high as 30m in some areas. The worldwide response was fantastic, more than $7 billion dollars was donated in humanitarian aid.
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