Wonders of the Modern World trading cards were issued in 1985 by John Player & Sons of Nottingham, England. The 30-card collection features photographs of contemporary technological and engineering marvels. Each card measures approximately 2.9 x 2.25 inches (74 x 57 mm). The series was distributed with Tom Thumb cigars from Player and Imperial Group PLC. A free Wonders of the Modern World collector album was available for by mail order until June 30, 1988. The album introduction was authored by Jean Cooke.

Space Shuttle Columbia is pictured on the crawler-transporter during transfer to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The photograph was taken in August 1981 during preparations for STS-2.

 

Astronaut Bruce McCandless is pictured in the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) during Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS 41-B. McCandless and Robert Stewart performed the first untethered EVA on February 7, 1984. McCandless is travelling at nearly 18,000 miles per hour, but the relative thrusts of the MMU were roughly two or three miles per hour.

 

The Solar Maximum Mission Observatory Satellite (SolarMax) was launched into orbit on February 14, 1980. The spacecraft was manufactured by Fairchild Industries. The SolarMax satellite reentered the atmosphere and burned up over the Indian Ocean on December 2, 1989.