Manned Space Flight, USA, Apollo-Skylab Crystal grown aboard Skylab, 1973

Manned Space Flight, USA, Apollo-Skylab Crystal grown aboard Skylab, 1973. An Indium Antimonide crystal grown on board the Skylab space station. Crystals have been known to grow a thousand times bigger in the weightless environment of space than is possible on Earth. Skylab was launched on 14th May 1973 and was America's first manned orbiting space station. Visiting crews of three astronauts performed experiments to study the Sun, Earth and the impact of life in orbit on the human body. Three crews visited Skylab during its operational life. The last mission ended in February 1974, but Skylab remained in orbit until 1979. ©SSPL/NASA