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First Venus Transit
There have been a total of six Venus transits since the invention of the telescope. No one saw the first transit in 1631. -
First Rocket to Enter Space
These rockets were called bumper rockets. They were originally created to enter and study the earth's upper atmosphere and test high altitude rocket systems. -
Russian Moon Eploration Program
Russia launches its Moon Exploration Program, but the first probe - intended to impact the moon - survives only 93 seconds before its booster rocket explodes. -
Luna 3
Luna 3 took 29 photographs of the far side of the moon, which had never been seen by humans before. -
Pioneer 5
America begins the decade witht he launch of Pioneer 5, a spacecraft that entered orbit around the sun at a distance between earth and venus. It provided the first map of magnetic field between planets which, up until this point, had only been a theory. -
Explorer 1
Made an orbit around earth every 114.8 minutes for a total of 58,100 total orbits before it bruned up in earth's atmoshpere. -
Helios B
Meant to be primarily used for solar observations... Made closest solar approach (0.29 AU). Was worked on by both the United States and Germany. -
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Voyagers 1 and 2
These two probes sent into space were the first two to explore the outer parts of the solar system. The Voyager 2 is the only one to explore all four giants at close proximity. Currently both Voyager 1 and 2 are in the heliosheath environment, a large area where solar wind mixes with interstellar winds. -
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The Pioneer Venus 1
One of two probes sent to Venus. The Pioneer Venus 1 used radar to map out the surface of Venus over a 14-year orbital mission. IT was discovered that the surface of Venus is generally smoother than Earth, but there is a mountain taller than Mount Everest and a chasm deeper than the Great Canyon. -
Pioneer 11
Only the second spacecraft to reach the outer planets, Pioneer 11 was meant to do studies on Saturn and its moons. It discovered that Saturn's atmoshpere is not a deadly as Jupiter's. Saturn's average temperature is -180 C. Photographs suggested that Saturn's surface is mainly hydrogen liquid. -
Suisei
This was a successful Japanese mission meant to observe Comet Halley and see what it is composed of. It detected cometary water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. -
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Galileo
Galileo was a probe designed to make the first study of Jupiter and its moons. It measured temperature, pressure, chemical composition, and cloud characteristics. It lasted only 58 minutes after entering Jupiter's atmosphere before it was crushed, melted, and/or vaporized because of the pressure and temperature. -
Hubble Space Telescope
Launched to explore in-depth about our solar system and other galaxies. Still making observations, the telescope has lasted far beyond its expected lifetime. -
Venus Transitting the Sun
Venus will transit the face of the sun in an event of both historical and observational importance. -
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Mars 2018
This mission is only a concept, but it would send two rovers to mars, one built by NASA and the other built by the European Space Agency. The NASA rover would collect a cache of possible sample to collect for a future sample return mission. The rover built by the ESA would search for life on mars.
