In some respects, the history of human spaceflight can be reduced to a single sentence: In 1960 no one had ever been to outer space, whereas today more than 700 people can call themselves "astronauts."
Such superficial simplicity, of course, belies the topic's depth and complexity, condensing and glossing over so many different events and stories that the brief statement becomes almost meaningless.
But what if, instead of summarizing human spaceflight history with a single sentence, we used a single graphic? (Technically, a set of graphics, but you get the idea.) Would the result be better?
In the February issue of Scientific American, my colleagues Zane Wolf, Jen Christiansen and Clara Moskowitz have tackled this daunting task, visualizing each and every human spaceflight to occur since the dawn of the Space Age. The resulting richly detailed tableau is equal parts "work of art" and "invaluable reference," revealing at a glance multiple subtle trends that could be easily missed in wordier, more sprawling overviews. Check it out—you'll find it enlightening, I'm sure. --Lee Billings
