Into Space trading cards were distributed in packs of Mills Filtertips cigarettes in 1958. Mills Filtertips were manufactured by Amalgamated Tobacco Corporation, Ltd. in the United Kingdom and Australia. The American Card Catalog reference is A46-31. Each card measures approximately 1.375 x 2.625 inches.

Into Space was distributed with various tea brands from Swettenhams Chesterton in 1959. The series was issued by A. S Wilkin Ltd. in 1960 and Musgrave Brothers Ltd. in 1961. The cigarette and tea cards are printed with blue text on the back. The A. S Wilkin cards are printed with green text on the back.

The 25-card series features illustrations of early aviation and spaceflight milestones, including the Soviet launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, and Laika the "Sputnik Dog." Laika (Лайка, "Curly") was the first animal to orbit the Earth, travelling aboard Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957. Laika died from overheating after the third orbit, about 5–7 hours into the mission. The Sputnik 2 spacecraft reentered the atmosphere on April 14, 1958.

"The story of Laika, the dog sent up in Sputnik 2 by the Russians, caused considerable controversy among dog lovers. It would seem however, that as far as possible the dog was provided for on its long journey at 18,000 miles per hour round the earth. Much valuable data was collected."

"Jules Verne's Moon Shell" depicts the fictional Columbiad spaceship in the 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon.