Our 4 Favorite Fictional Space Explorers

Who made you dream about travelling to space?

Although space travel is not as easy as we would like to, there are hundreds of movies, TV series, and books that made us travel to or live in space with our imagination.

We put together our four favorite fictional space explorers, characters from comics or TV series that, thanks to their fictional space travels, inspired us to work in the space industry and find ways to protect our planet. You’ll probably recognize them from your childhood, but in case you don’t, we briefly explain you who these fantastic characters are and we invite you to watch a teaser about them.

Space Pirate Captain Harlock by Leiji Matsumoto (1977)

Captain Harlock is an anime character that was created in 1977 by Japanese artist Lejii Matsumoto. He’s the protagonist of the a TV series that was originally presented in 1978, then revived in the 1990s with a new installment. Even though each telling of Harlock’s story changed significantly, the essential trait remained unchanged: Captain Harlock turns himself into a Space Pirate trying to save the Earth. “If you believe in the future of our planet, you are not alone.” (Captain Harlock)

Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic - #1 Fantastic Four (1961)

Reed Richards was named by the BusinessWeek one of the top smartest fictional characters in the American comics history. The Fantastic Four team traveled to space to further the advance of space technology, but intense cosmic rays penetrated their spaceship, irradiating the crew and forcing them back to Earth. That’s when they discover that the cosmic radiation had changed their bodies, conferring them superhero powers. Reed Richards turns into Mister Fantastic, the super-stretchy leader of the Fantastic Four with an elastic and malleable body. Together, taking advantage of their new powers, they save the world from the evil plan of Doctor Victor Von Doom.

Atomsk - Pirate King

Atomsk, also known as the Pirate King, is the most powerful space pirate in the galaxy and has the physical looking of a massive phoenix-like creature. He’s an enigmatic character equipped with N.O. power (the power to mentally call other objects and energies through lightyears of space) that enables him to steal entire star systems - what he does with those it’s unknown though.

Space Ghost (1966)

Space Ghost was created in the 1960s as an animated show. Space Ghost is a superhero that fights supervillains in outer space and defends the planet from crime, with the support of his sidekicks Jan, Jace and Blip the monkey. He possesses advanced alien technology and an Inviso-Belt that makes him invisible and able to pass through walls.