Being the space nerd that I am, I often imagine a museum filled with the most important objects ever sent to space. We couldn’t possibly build a place like this, but we can speculate as to which human artifacts deserve a place in our imaginary spaceflight museum.
Most things sent to space are utilitarian in nature and are now of little practical value, unless they’re still functioning. Our artifacts can be found orbiting the Earth and Sun, sitting on the surfaces of planets and moons, and even flying through interstellar space.
Some of these relics are more valuable than others, and by “valuable” I mean from a historic, nostalgic, or scientific perspective. To come up with this list, I reviewed my favorite moments in space history—and consulted with astronomer Jonathan McDowell for anything I may have missed.