Astronaut meets tinman...

Space Man, Schylling, China, 2000

This astronaut is a copy of a Nomura toy of the 50ies (he was called "Earth Man" by the Japanese at that time). I wonder if the first astronauts really did go to space with guns of some sort. One would believe it to be futile, since any damage to the capsule would mean a death sentence for its occupants.

The fact is, during the cold war, space had to be "conquered" - instead of "discovered".