“The Things They Carried” [into Space]

We have taken many missions into space over the last fifty years since NASA's founding, and we have not hesitated to bring along some of our most treasured historical mementos. For instance, Luke Skywalker's lightsaber prop from the Star Wars movies.

Besides that, a few small pieces from the Wright Flyer, which made its debut flight in 1903 and only managed to get a few feet off of the ground. Sixty-six years later, the airplane managed to fly all the way to the moon. Also, a lead cargo tag, which made the journey from England to Virginia in 1611, was uncovered at the Jamestown colony and then flown aboard the space shuttle.

Of course, we have left several things on the moon, including the first flag erected by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Also, after hitting it with an improvised club, Alan Shepard left a golf ball during Apollo 14, while Charles Duke left a portrait of his family.

Furthermore, thousands of names have been brought into space aboard certain spacecraft, like Stardust and Dawn, via microchips.