China Sends Babies Into Space (Only Figuratively)

Well, this is certain to brighten your day. During the 1960s, while America and the Soviet Union were fretting over who would make it to the moon first (and later settling on who could obliterate the other first) China was rolling with a much cutesier and more fantastical vision of the future, as captured in these space propaganda posters from ‘60s, ‘70s and '80s.

These images, compiled by Dangerous Minds, were originally created to arouse feelings of national pride and hope with regard to space exploration and state wealth. But if seen out of context, you may be forgiven for thinking that space is actually overrun with babies and children off their minds on, well, definitely not oxygen as most haven’t even bothered to wear helmets.

Don’t worry though, these cherubic ‘taikonauts’, while being sent to their certain death with the weight of a whole nation on their shoulders, were provided with plenty of entertainment on the way up in the form of animals (helmets included), goddesses, cameras and even telephones so that they could gurgle nonsensically to their distraught families back home. So cute!

It appears we were promised so much but given so little.