10 Important Space Exploration Events

By Owen Seech-Hrvatin

  • Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution.

  • Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden

  • The term ecology is coined in German as Oekologie by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel

  • The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith in the book Air and Rain

  • The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in a London meeting to express concern over air pollution

  • US Congress created the National Park Service

  • First Artificial Satellite in Space

    First Artificial Satellite in Space

    The USSR launched Sputnik 1 into the atmosphere making it the first man-made object to leave the Earth's atmosphere. The launching of Sputnik 1 marked the beginning of the Space Race.
  • First Man in Space

    First Man in Space

    The USSR sends Yuri Gagarin into space. He made a single orbit of Earth in 108 minutes, traveling at more than 17,000 miles per hour.

  • Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring

  • First Woman in Space

    First Woman in Space

    Valentina Tereshkova, a former textile worker, became the first woman to be launched into space. She circled the Earth 49 times during three days in space.

  • The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise

  • First man on the moon

    First man on the moon

    The United States' Apollo 11 lander touched base on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walked around on the Moon for 21 hours before they set back to Earth.

  • First Earth Day

  • The Challenger Rocket Explodes

    The Challenger Rocket Explodes

    The Challenger Space Shuttle broke apart into pieces less than a 90 seconds into its flight. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic ocean.

  • Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force

  • First image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

    First image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

    The first image taken by the telescope was meant to focus the camera lenses as well as to compare the Hubble telescope to ground based ones.

  • The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide

  • Pathfinder Rover Lands on Mars

    Pathfinder Rover Lands on Mars

    Mars Pathfinder was launched December 4, 1996 and landed on Mars' on July 4, 1997. It was the first rover on the Martian surface.
  • Began building the ISS

    Began building the ISS

    Assembly of the ISS began with the launch of its first module, Zarya. The ISS is the largest artificial body in space. The station has been continuously occupied since November 2000.

  • U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol

  • First Man-made Object to Enter Interstellar Space

    First Man-made Object to Enter Interstellar Space

    The Voyager 1, launched in September 5, 1977, crossed the thresh-hold of our solar system and passed into interstellar space.

  • U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation

  • U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation

  • JWST takes first image

    JWST takes first image

    The James Webb Space Telescope takes its first infrared images of the Carina Nebula to demonstrate its true power. The JWST is the tool to learn about the origin of our universe.