The NASA Archives: 60 Years in Space
Last updated: 3 October 2026
The NASA Archives: 60 Years in Space is a Taschen XL book of more than 400 photographs and concept drawings from NASA's history, researched with NASA's help and rescanned for print. It runs to 468 pages, measures 33cm square and weighs over 5kg. The list price is £100. On 3 October 2026 Amazon UK had it at £91.18.
Buy The NASA Archives on Amazon UK, £91
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What is in The NASA Archives
NASA opened on 1 October 1958, a year after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. The book runs from that day to the space systems NASA was building in 2018. In between come Mercury, Gemini and the Apollo Moon landings. Then the space shuttle, the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Mars rovers.
Taschen says the 400-plus images were scanned and remastered from NASA's own material. They are printed large, so you can see the detail. Alongside the photographs are concept paintings of missions that were planned before the hardware existed. A mission checklist at the back lists the key crewed and robotic flights.
Who wrote it
Piers Bizony, a science and technology journalist, wrote the main text. Roger Launius, NASA's former chief historian, and the Apollo historian Andrew Chaikin contributed essays. Chaikin wrote A Man on the Moon, the book behind the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon.
What reviewers said
The former astronaut John Grunsfeld called it "a tour-de-force and an important chronicle". That quote is on the Taschen page for the book, which also has 29 preview images. On Amazon UK it had 4.9 out of 5 from 407 ratings when we checked.
Key facts
- Author: Piers Bizony, with Roger Launius and Andrew Chaikin
- Publisher: Taschen, XL format
- Format: hardback, 468 pages, more than 400 images
- Size: 33 x 33cm, a little more than the long side of a sheet of A4 in each direction, and over 5kg, about the same as five bags of sugar
- ISBN: 9783836569507
- Price: £100 list price, £91.18 on Amazon UK on 3 October 2026 with 11 left in stock
Who it suits
- Space fans: it covers 60 years of missions with pictures large enough to study.
- Photography lovers: the pictures come from NASA's own archive, rescanned for this edition and printed at 33cm across.
- A big birthday or Christmas present: at £91 it suits someone who will keep it out on a table.
- Families with a young space fan: pair it with the LEGO International Space Station set. The station is in the book.
The limits
The size is the main thing to think about. At 33cm square and over 5kg it will not fit on most bookshelves. It is also heavy to hold on your lap, so it needs a table or a large shelf. The book stops in 2018, so it has nothing on the Artemis missions or the James Webb Space Telescope, which launched in December 2021. The text supports the pictures rather than telling the full history.
Where to buy The NASA Archives in the UK
Amazon UK had it at £91.18 on 3 October 2026, £8.82 under the list price. It had 11 copies left, with more on the way. Taschen sells it direct at the full price.
The NASA Archives on Amazon UK
FAQs
What is The NASA Archives book?
It is a Taschen XL photo book covering NASA's first 60 years, with more than 400 photographs and concept drawings and text by Piers Bizony, Roger Launius and Andrew Chaikin.
How big is The NASA Archives?
It is 33cm square, 468 pages long and weighs over 5kg.
How much does The NASA Archives cost in the UK?
The list price is £100. On 3 October 2026 Amazon UK had it at £91.18.
Does The NASA Archives cover Artemis?
No. It covers NASA up to its 60th anniversary in 2018, so it ends before the Artemis programme and the James Webb Space Telescope.
Who wrote The NASA Archives?
Piers Bizony wrote the main text, with essays by the former NASA chief historian Roger Launius and the Apollo historian Andrew Chaikin.
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