Now that we are at the end of 2024, it is time to look back at this year’s material published on Drew Ex Machina and see which of the new essays I posted during this site’s eleventh year online, along with earlier published material, proved to be most popular among my readers. In addition to satisfying my curiosity, this exercise is an attempt to figure out what kinds of articles my readers prefer so that I can focus my attention on similar topics over the coming months when possible. What follows is a review of the Top Ten most popular articles on this site during 2024 based on a raw tally of their page views. If you are interested in checking out any of these articles for yourself, they can be accessed by clicking on the titles or the feature images in the reviews that follow.
A black & white image of Earthrise as seen from Apollo 8 in lunar orbit. (NASA/JSC)
#10 First Pictures: Earthrise from Apollo 8 – December 24, 1968
Probably the iconic photograph from the historic Apollo 8 mission was earthrise over the stark horizon of the Moon. Ironically, this photograph was unplanned with astronaut Bill Anders catching a glimpse of the rising Earth during a lunar photograph session. The #10 article for 2024 goes into the details of this historic image.
A view of LM-1 being prepared for the unmanned Apollo 5 mission. (NASA)
#9 Apollo 5: The First Flight of the Lunar Module
This past year saw the 55th anniversary celebrations of many key Apollo missions as NASA and its contractors worked hard to land on the Moon before the end of 1969. One of these important precursor missions was the unmanned flight of Apollo 5 which tested the Lunar Module in space for the first time in 1968. The #9 most popular article during 2024 was a detailed account of this largely forgotten mission and the problems it encountered. Despite these issues, the flight was deemed a success bringing NASA one step closer to the goal of reaching the Moon.
The Surveyor lunar lander. (NASA)
#8 Surveyor 1: America’s First Lunar Landing
One of the series of missions launched by NASA before Apollo landed on the Moon was the unmanned Surveyor lunar landers. These missions performed the first characterizations of the lunar surface and assessed the safety of various regions for crewed lunar landings to come. The #8 rated article on Drew Ex Machina for 2024 went into the details of the first of these missions, Surveyor 1, launched in 1966.
Astronaut Alan Shepard shown next to the American flag at Fra Mauro – the same landing site targeted for Apollo 13. (NASA)
#7 The Original Mission of Apollo 13
Apollo 13 is one of the better remembered missions of the Apollo program not because of its accomplishments on the Moon, but because of the successful return of the crew following an oxygen tank explosion during the outbound leg of their journey. The #7 article on this website during 2024 went into the details of what was originally planned for this lunar landing mission before it was cancelled.
This artist’s impression of worlds in the star Alpha Centauri system. (ESO)
#6 Alien Skies: The View from Alpha Centauri
The closest star system, Alpha Centauri, which is composed of a pair of Sun-like stars and one red dwarf, has been the setting for numerous scifi stories over the past century providing any fictional visitors with views unlike anything offered in our Solar System. The #6 article on Drew Ex Machina for 2024 took a detailed look at the view from a hypothetical Earth-twin orbiting Alpha Centauri A of the other suns and planets in this nearby system.
Here is the first color photo-mosaic of the Earth taken from space on October 5, 1954 as assembled by Dr. Otto Berg and his team. (NRL)
#5 First Pictures: Color View of the Earth and a Tropical Depression from Space – October 5, 1954
While color views of the Earth from space are readily available today, they were exceptionally uncommon during the years leading up to the beginning of the Space Age and even afterwards. The first usable color photographs of the Earth were not acquired until October 5, 1954 when a Naval Research Laboratory Aerobee sounding rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico carried a color movie camera to a peak altitude of 160 kilometers. Not only were the first color photos of the Earth from space secured during this mission, but the first space-based view of a tropical system providing more evidence of the utility of weather observations from space. The #5 rated post on Drew Ex Machina in 2024 took a detailed look at these first color photos of our home world and how they were taken.
A view of Pete Conrad standing next to the long-silent Surveyor 3 unmanned lunar lander during the Apollo 12 mission’s second EVA on November 20, 1969. (NASA)
#4 The Apollo 12 Visit to Surveyor 3: A Preview of Space Archaeology
With the impending return of humans to the Moon, there has been growing calls to revisit some of the earlier lunar landing sites. However, this desire is hardly new. During their second EVA on the lunar surface on November 20, 1969, NASA astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean visited the long silent Surveyor 3 robotic spacecraft 2½ years after it had landed on Oceanus Procellarum. One of the objectives of the Apollo 12 mission was to demonstrate the ability to make precision landings and Surveyor 3 presented an unambiguous target to gauge success. The Apollo 12 LM, Intrepid, came down just 155 meters from Surveyor 3 on November 19 allowing the crew to visit the robotic lander and return samples of its components for analysis back on Earth. The #4 most popular article on Drew Ex Machina for 2024 took a in depth look at the Apollo 12 crew’s visit to Surveyor 3 giving us a foretaste of future visits to historical lunar landing sites.
This is a view of Gemini 7 which was launched on a two-week mission on December 4, 1965 with NASA astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on board. In addition to its record-setting long duration mission, Gemini 7 served as a rendezvous target for Gemini 6 whose crew took this photograph at a range of 15 meters on December 15. (NASA)
#3 Gemini 7: Two Weeks in the Front Seat of a Volkswagen
With crews on the International Space Station routinely spending six or more months in orbit, there has been interest in the earliest long-duration missions. In December 1965, NASA astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell spent a fortnight in orbit on board Gemini 7 under conditions which were described by the press at the time as like spending two weeks in the front seat of a Volkswagen Beetle. The #3 most popular article on Drew Ex Machina for 2024 took a detailed look at the Gemini 7 mission which set a space endurance record which would stand for almost five years.
A portion of one of the color panoramas returned from the surface of Venus by Venera 13 on March 1, 1982. (Don Mitchell)
#2 First Pictures: Color Views of the Surface of Venus by Venera 13 – March 1, 1982
With the approval of new missions to Venus by NASA and ESA, interest in the “classic” missions to our sister planet has increased. On March 1, 1982, the Soviet Venera 13 lander touched down on the surface of Venus. While the seventh successful landing on our sister planet by the Soviet Union, the highly instrumented Venera 13 was the first to return color images from the hellish Venusian surface. The #2 rated post on Drew Ex Machina took a closer look at how these first of their kind images were acquired.
Apollo 6 shown during its ascent as debris is seen coming off of its spacecraft launch adapter (SLA). (NASA)
#1 Apollo 6: The Saturn V That Almost Failed
Space enthusiasts fondly remember the Saturn V rocket which sent nine Apollo crews to the Moon including a dozen astronauts who actually landed on the lunar surface between July 1969 and December 1972. Retired after thirteen flights when it launched NASA’s Skylab space station into Earth orbit on May 14, 1973, it is frequently claimed that the Saturn V had a perfect flight record – an unequaled achievement for what was the largest launch vehicle of its day. While it is certainly true that no Saturn V suffered a catastrophic failure, which resulted in the total loss of a mission, NASA’s famous Moon rocket did experience its share of problems. With the ongoing series of test flights of the Starship heavy lift launch vehicle built by SpaceX, there has been growing interest in this flight of the Apollo-Saturn V designated Apollo 6. Launched on April 4, 1968, the second Saturn V to fly experienced more than its share of problems during its flight culminating with the failure of the S-IVB third stage to reignite to send the spacecraft on a simulated trajectory to the Moon. Fortunately, the causes of the failures were quickly assessed, and fixes confidently identified eliminating the need for a third unmanned test flight of the Saturn V and keeping NASA’s schedule on track to land on the Moon before the end of 1969.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the over 52,000 people from around the globe who have taken time in 2024 to read these Top Ten as well as the other 377 essays on Drew Ex Machina. The many comments and feedback on this site as well as in other forums have also been greatly appreciated. I intend to continue posting interesting essays on space-related topics during 2025 and hope that all of you continue reading and enjoying them.