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Explore the Unknown Facts about Space Exploration

What is Space Exploration?

Importance of Space Exploration

What is the History of Space Exploration?

Types of Space Exploration

Benefits of Space Exploration to the Mankind

Drawbacks of Space Exploration

Significant Milestones in Space Exploration

Explore the list of significant milestones in space exploration to date (1)

Date Event Spacecraft Countries
Oct. 4, 1957 The first artificial Earth satellite Sputnik 1 U.S.S.R.
Nov. 3, 1957 Laika, the first animal launched into space Sputnik 2 U.S.S.R.
Sept. 14, 1959 The first spacecraft to hard land on the Moon Luna 2 U.S.S.R.
Oct. 7, 1959 The first pictures of the far side of the Moon Luna 3 U.S.S.R.
April 1, 1960 The first applications satellite launched TIROS 1 (weather observation) U.S.
Aug. 11, 1960 The first recovery of a payload from Earth orbit Discoverer 13 (part of the Corona reconnaissance satellite program) U.S.
April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin - the first human to orbit Earth  Vostok 1 U.S.S.R.
Dec. 14, 1962 The first data returned from another planet Mariner 2 U.S.
June 16, 1963 Valentina Tereshkova - The first woman in space Vostok 6 U.S.S.R.
July 26, 1963 The first satellite to operate in geostationary orbit Syncom 2 (telecommunications satellite) U.S.
March 18, 1965 Human’s first spacewalk, by Soviet cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov  Voskhod 2 U.S.S.R.
July 14, 1965 The first spacecraft pictures of Mars Mariner 4 U.S.
Feb. 3, 1966 The first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon Luna 9 U.S.S.R.
April 24, 1967 Vladimir Komarov - the first death during a space mission Soyuz 1 U.S.S.R.
Dec. 24, 1968 Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders – the first humans to orbit the Moon Apollo 8 U.S.
July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong – the first human to walk on the Moon  Apollo 11 U.S.
Sept. 24, 1970 The first return of lunar samples by an unmanned spacecraft Luna 16 U.S.S.R.
Dec. 15, 1970 The first soft landing on another planet (Venus) Venera 7 U.S.S.R.
April 19, 1971 The first space station launched Salyut 1 U.S.S.R.
Nov. 13, 1971 The first spacecraft to orbit another planet (Mars) Mariner 9 U.S.
Dec. 2, 1971 The first spacecraft to soft-land on Mars Mars 3 U.S.S.R.
Dec. 3, 1973 The first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter Pioneer 10 U.S.
July 17, 1975 The first international docking in space Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project U.S., U.S.S.R.
July 20, 1976 The first pictures transmitted from the surface of Mars Viking 1 U.S.
Sept. 1, 1979 first spacecraft to fly by Saturn Pioneer 11 U.S.
April 12–14, 1981 The first reusable spacecraft launched and returned from space space shuttle Columbia U.S.
Jan. 24, 1986 The first spacecraft to fly by Uranus Voyager 2 U.S.
March 13, 1986 The first spacecraft to make a close flyby of a comet nucleus Giotto at Halley's Comet European Space Agency
Aug. 24, 1989 The first spacecraft to fly by Neptune Voyager 2 U.S.
April 25, 1990 The first large optical space telescope was launched Hubble Space Telescope U.S., European Space Agency
Dec. 7, 1995 The first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter Galileo U.S.
Nov. 2, 2000 The first resident crew to occupy the International Space Station William Shepherd, Yury Gidzenko, and Sergey Krikalyov U.S., Russia
Feb. 14, 2000; 
Feb. 12, 2001 
The first spacecraft to orbit (2000) and land on (2001) an asteroid NEAR at the asteroid Eros U.S.
June 21, 2004 The first privately funded manned spacecraft to achieve suborbital flight above 100 km (62 miles) Mike Melvill on SpaceShipOne Mojave Aerospace Ventures (commercial joint venture)
July 1, 2004 The first spacecraft to orbit Saturn Cassini-Huygens U.S., European Space Agency, Italy
Jan. 14, 2005 The first spacecraft to land on the moon of a planet other than Earth (Saturn's moon Titan) Huygens probe of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft U.S., European Space Agency, Italy
June 13, 2010 The first spacecraft to return to Earth with samples from an asteroid Hayabusa Japan
March 17, 2011 The first spacecraft to orbit Mercury  Messenger  U.S.
August 6, 2014 The first spacecraft to orbit a comet Rosetta European Space Agency
November 12, 2014 The first spacecraft to land on a comet Philae European Space Agency
March 6, 2015 The first spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet (Ceres) Dawn U.S.
July 14, 2015 The first spacecraft to fly by Pluto New Horizons U.S.
December 21, 2015 The first rocket stage to return to its launch site Falcon 9 U.S.
January 1, 2019 The farthest object (2014 MU69) explored by a spacecraft New Horizons U.S.
January 3, 2019 The first landing on the Moon's far side Chang'e 4 China
August 23, 2023 The first landing of spacecraft on the Moon’s South Pole Chandrayaan-3 India

Space exploration has advanced human knowledge, technology, and culture in many ways. It has inspired generations of scientists, engineers, artists, and dreamers to pursue their passions and curiosity. It aids the human desire of exploring the unknown and expands the horizons of humanity.

FAQs about Space Exploration