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Sputnik 1 was the first man-made object to enter space. Sputnik 1 did not carry any people, and it remained in orbit until January 4th, 1958.
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Sputnik 2, was the second man-made object to enter space however, this space pod was carrying a dog named Laika. Since the Soviets did not create a plan for the pod to come back to Earth, Laika died in space. This sparked debates about animal rights all around the world.
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Explorer 1, the first American satellite in orbit took to space in Cape Canaveral using a modified Jupiter-C rocket. This was a scientific experiment conducted by James A Van Allen. This pod discovered the Earth’s radiation belt.
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Ranger 7 take the first close range photographs of the Moon.
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Edward White makes the first US space walk, this lasted for 22 minutes.
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Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to the make a soft landing on the moon.
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Soviet Zond 5 is launched, the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon and return.
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Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin made the first manned (nonmachine) soft landing on the moon.
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Pioneer 11 reaches Saturn, flying to within 13,000 miles and taking the first close-up photographs
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Spacecraft Magellan enters the atmosphere of Venus, burning up following the completion of its mapping mission.
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Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched carrying the Raffaello logistics module back to the ISS with new supplies.
