History of Space Exploration

First telescopic observation of the night sky

Jan 1, 1610

Discovery of Jupiter's moons, Luar craters, and phases of Venus.

First clear telescopic photograph of the Moon

Jan 1, 1840

Proof that space exploration was possible

Jan 1, 1903

Inspirede by the writings of Jules Verne, work was published showing that physical space exploration was theoretically possible.

Society for Studies of Interplanetary Travel founded

Jan 1, 1924

Society for Studies of Interplanetary Travel was founded by the Soviet Union.

First rocket launched

Mar 16, 1926

Goddard launches the first liquid-filled rocket.

First vehicle to enter outer space

Oct 3, 1942

First vehicle to cross the Karman line (62 miles above Earth's surface therfore entering outer space.

First pictures of Earth

Oct 24, 1946

Pictures taken from 65 miles above Earth

First animals in space

Feb 20, 1947

Fruit Flies

First satellite in space

Oct 4, 1957

The Soviet Union launched their first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space.

First artificial satellite

Oct 4, 1957

First signals from space

First animal in orbit around Earth

Nov 3, 1957

The dog Laika

First US satellite

Jan 31, 1958

The first US satellite, Explorer 1, went into orbit around the Earth in January of 1958.

FIrst photos of another world in space

Oct 4, 1959

Photos of the far side of the moon

First life to return alive from Earth's orbit

Aug 19, 1960

Sputnik 5 returned living animals and plants to Earth.

First man in space/first orbit around Earth

Apr 12, 1961

Russian Lt. Yuri Gargaein orbited Earth in Vostok 1; his flight lasted 108 minutes, and he reached an altitude of 327 kilometers (about 202 miles).

First Hominidae in Space

Oct 4, 1961

A chimpanzee performed first tasks in space.

Frist American to fly into space

Feb 20, 1962

John Glenn's historic flight made him the first American to orbit Earth.

First man on the moon

Jul 20, 1969

Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, making him the first man to walk on the moon.

First Space Station

Apr 19, 1971

The stations was named Salyut 1

First soft Mars landing

Dec 2, 1971

This also included the first signals from the surface of Mars.

First photos and soil sampels from the surface of Mars

Jul 20, 1976

Samples and photos taken from the Viking Lander.

First Venus soil samples and sound recording of another world.

Mar 1, 1982

Samples aquired by the Venera 13.

First Uranus flyby

Jan 24, 1986

Closest approach-81,500 kilometers

First Neptune flyby

Aug 25, 1989

Closest approach-29,240 kilometers.

First photograph of the whole Solar System

Feb 14, 1990

Taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Firs tpolar orbit around the Sun

Feb 8, 1992

Oribited by Ulysses.

First mission into the atmosphere of a gas giant (Jupiter)

Dec 7, 1995

Galileo's atmospheric entry probe achieved this mission. The Galileo also orbited Jupiter for the first time.

First orbiting of an asteroid

Feb 14, 2000

orbited by NEAR shoemaker.

First orbit around Saturn

Jul 14, 2004

Orbited by Cassini-Huygens.

First man-made probe to make a planned and soft landing on a comet

Nov 12, 2014

Probe's name was Rosetta

First food eaten that was grown in space

Aug 10, 2015

The food grown in space was lettuce.

Citation

Oct 4, 2015

"Timeline of Space Exploration." - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2015.