Okay wow, greatest space missions are legit one of those topics that still give me chills even though I’m just sitting here in my messy apartment in the US on a random Tuesday night in 2026 with half a cold pizza and my ancient star map projector throwing little dots on the ceiling. I swear every time I think about Apollo 11 I get this weird lump in my throat like I personally watched Neil Armstrong step down even though I obviously wasn’t born yet.
Why Greatest Space Missions Still Hit Different in 2026
Look, I know we’ve got Starship blowing up (and occasionally not blowing up) every other week now, but there’s something raw about those early ones. Maybe because back then nobody really knew if the people were coming home. I remember being maybe 12, sneaking downstairs at like 2 a.m. because my dad had left the History Channel on, and they were replaying grainy footage of Apollo 13. The oxygen tank explosion scene? Dude. I was eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the dark and legit started crying into the bowl because Lovell said “Houston, we’ve had a problem” so calmly. Still gives me goosebumps. That’s the kind of stakes that made those greatest space missions feel like humanity rolling the dice with everything.
- Apollo 11 (1969) – obviously the GOAT. First humans on another world. Armstrong’s line. Aldrin’s little communion wafer thing he never really talked about much afterward.
- Apollo 13 (1970) – the ultimate “we’re all gonna die… psych, we’re fine” story
- Voyager 1 & 2 (1977–still going) – those little gold records are out there drifting forever with Chuck Berry and brainwaves of a woman saying “hello” in 55 languages
- Hubble repair missions (especially STS-61 in 1993) – astronauts basically doing the most expensive car repair in history while floating
- Perseverance + Ingenuity (2021) – first powered flight on another planet. I ugly-cried watching that helicopter takeoff livestream in my pajamas
My Embarrassing Space Nerd Origin Story
Full disclosure: I once tried to build a model Saturn V in middle school using mostly hot glue, cardboard tubes from paper towels, and spray paint I stole from my uncle’s garage. It looked like a traffic cone had a baby with a Crayola marker. Launch day (aka me throwing it off the roof with bottle rockets taped on) ended with the entire thing catching fire mid-air and my mom screaming “YOU ARE GROUNDED UNTIL COLLEGE.” Worth it though. That dumb charred mess is still the closest I’ve personally come to participating in greatest space missions.
Anyway if you wanna go deeper here are some solid places I keep going back to:
- NASA’s official Apollo 11 page for the raw transcripts and audio → https://www.nasa.gov/history/apollo-11-mission
- The Planetary Society’s Voyager section because Carl Sagan still makes me emotional → https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/voyager
- Space.com’s timeline of human spaceflight because it’s stupidly detailed → https://www.space.com/11326-human-spaceflight-history-timeline.html
Greatest Space Missions Ranked (My Flawed American Hot Take)
Okay I’m doing this even though rankings are dumb and everyone fights about them.
- Apollo 11 – no explanation needed
- Apollo 13 – literal miracle engineering
- Voyager program – still phoning home after almost 50 years
- Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions – saved astronomy like five times
- Mars Perseverance / Ingenuity – tiny helicopter supremacy
Change my mind. (You won’t.)
What I Wish We’d Do Next (My Chaotic Wishlist)
I want another crewed moon landing so bad it hurts. Like not just flags and footprints again—give me a little habitat, give me actual science, give me people staying for weeks. Also I’m low-key obsessed with the idea of a proper Europa Clipper follow-up mission that actually lands. Clipper launches soon™ (okay 2024 was the plan but you know how NASA timelines go). Imagine ice cores from a subsurface ocean. Alien fish possibility. I’m ready to lose my mind.
Anyway I’ve rambled enough. Greatest space missions still feel like the most hopeful thing humans ever did—even when we almost killed everybody in the process. If you’ve got a favorite mission I missed or you wanna fight me about my ranking, drop it in the comments. Or just tell me I’m basic for crying at space footage. I can take it.
Now excuse me while I go stare at my ceiling star projector and pretend I’m on the way to Mars. Peace.
