Vermot de Pas: Conquering Space, NASA's Photographic Icons, 168560, Paris

Liftoff of Space Shuttle Columbia (Mission STS-83).

Pictorial sunrise in front of the impressive silhouette of the space shuttle Discovery (Mission STS-82)

Impressive landing of the space shuttle ATLANTIS (STS-86) at Kennedy Space Center.

"KODAK PROFESSIONAL PAPER/PAPIER/PAPEL". NASA logo and numbering on front with inscription in plate: "Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas 77058.

Superb panoramic view of the liftoff of the space shuttle DISCOVERY (Mission STS-95)

Planet MARS. This fantastic "Orthographic View" of the planet MARS, ...was taken from 1000 photographs acquired by the VIKING ORBITER probe

Space shuttle Columbia is positioned in front of the Orbiter Processing Facility, ready to carry out mission STS-93, which will orbit the Chandra X-ray observatory

Space shuttle DISCOVERY (Mission STS-96) soars into the Florida morning sky carrying a crew of 7.

This photograph shows a tricolour composite of the famous Crab Nebula.

Rare photograph of the space shuttle suspended vertically in its assembly hall, to be attached to its main tank...

Superb night takeoff of the space shuttle ENDEAVOUR (Mission STS-97)

As the sun sets over the horizon, Space Shuttle ENDEAVOUR (Mission STS-97) is ready to lift off from its launch pad to the International Space Station

Panoramic night view of Space Shuttle Discovery (Mission STS-92)

A spectacular plume of smoke rises into the Florida sky, carrying the space shuttle ATLANTIS (Mission STS-) at its peak.

Beautiful profile silhouette of the space shuttle ENDEAVOUR (Mission STS-99) caught a few meters from its landing runway

In the early hours of the morning, Space Shuttle DISCOVERY (Mission STS-92) awaits launch.

Superb and rare aerial perspective of space shuttle ENDEAVOUR (Mission STS-89) en route to launch pad 39A

This image is a color composite of a supernova remnant: X-ray (blue), optical (green) and radio (red).

BIG FORMAT. Today, astronomers cite GK Persei as an example of a "classic nova", a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf, the dense remnant of a Sun-like star.

From the magnificent International Space Station, observation of the appearance of the Moon above the globe

HUBBLE. Spectacular galactic "fireworks" at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years.

HUBBLE. Strange echoes of light escape from an exploding star 20 million years from Earth in the Unicorn Constellation.

Twin columns of white flame spew from the solid-fuel boosters of the space shuttle ATLANTIS (Misison STS-112) for this beautiful liftoff

DEEP SPACE. A striking composite image of one of the universe's most popular sights: the Sombrero galaxy.

This Deep Space image shows a remarkable, near-perfect ring about 150 light-years across, surrounding a cloud of oxygen-rich gas shock-heated to millions of degrees Celsius.