We'll admit it. The first time we fired up In Space We Trust – an interactive art project that takes you through the history of space exploration – we had our doubts. How come? Because, frankly, of the amount of time it takes for the site to just load up.

Caching all that interactive goodness might seem to take forever – and will also take its toll on your CPU – but we're glad we persevered, because this is a beautiful educational gem that lets you virtually walk through an onscreen museum exhibiting some of the highlights of humanity's space-faring history.

Sponsored by the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, In Space We Trust kicks off in 1957 with Sputnik 1, and lets you make your way through all the pioneering achievements of the Space Race and afterwards, up until the most recent discoveries of New Horizons.

As you move your little space cadet avatar along the screen, each exhibit swirls into life behind you, with lush animations revealing things like key dates and facts about missions, the workings and trajectories of various spacecraft, or the location of planets and satellites in space.

Again, you might be obliged to wait here and there, just so you can see the animations unfurl and do their thing. Some of the virtual exhibits go further too, giving you the option of reading more and finding out additional information on the web.

For a little sampler of what to expect, check out the video below, but it's really worth just heading to the site itself if you've got a few minutes to spare. Plus there's even a downloads section, so you can exit through the virtual gift shop and grab some free In Space We Trust memorabilia to enjoy after your trek through the annals of space history. Awesome.