Important Dates in Space Exploration

By AngelaD124

  • Philadelphia committee

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

  • Walden Published

    Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden

  • Ecology term coined

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

  • Acid rain term coined

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

  • Term Smog coined

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

  • National Park Service

    US Congress created the National Park Service
  • First artificial Earth satellite

    First artificial Earth satellite

    USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite successfully placed in orbit around the Earth. This resulted in the great space race.
  • First animals to return from space alive

    First animals to return from space alive

    Two monkeys were sent in to space by the US on a Jupiter missile. They were not the first animals to be send however, they were the first to survive.
  • The first man in Space

    The first man in Space

    USSR sent Yuri Gagarin who made a single orbit around the earth in a Vostok Spacecraft at more than 17,000 miles per hour.

  • Silent Spring Published

    Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring
  • First Woman in Space

    First Woman in Space

    Valentina Tereshkova, launched by the Soviet Union, became the first women ever to be launched into space. She circled the Earth 49 times during 3 days. She was reported injured in the landing.

  • Earthrise

    The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise
  • First Man on the Moon

    First Man on the Moon

    US astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the moon. His teammate Edwin Aldrin joined him around 20 minutes later.

  • Earth Day

    First Earth Day – April 22. Millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day. US Environmental Protection Agency established
  • First Orbital Space Station

    First Orbital Space Station

    The soviet Union launched the first orbital station Salyut. Designed for a 6-month on orbit operational lifetime .
  • 1st Mars Landing

    1st Mars Landing

    US spacecraft Viking 1 becomes the first to successfully land on Mars and send back images of the Red Planet.
  • Space Shuttle

    Space Shuttle

    The US space shuttle Columbia, the first reusable manned spacecraft, makes its voyage.

  • Ozone layer protection

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

    The Hubble

    The Hubble is the first space telescope to be placed into orbit, at 547 kilometers (340 miles) from Earth.Thirteen meters (42 feet) long, Hubble revolutionizes astronomy, allowing scientists to observe the planets and most distant stars and galaxies.

  • Kyoto Protocal

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

  • Kyoto Protocol Rejection

    U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol.
  • Comet Landing

    Comet Landing

    The European Space Agency places a small robot, Philae, on a comet more than 500 million kilometers from Earth. The first comet lander is part of a mission aiming to explore the origins of the Solar System.

  • U.S. exists the Paris Agreement

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

  • U.S. rejoins Paris Agreement

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