Important events in space exploration

  • 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 satellite launched into space

    first satellite launched into space

    Russia successfully launched a satellite known as Sputnik 1 into space.
  • First human sent to space

    First human sent to space

    Yuri Gagarin was sent to space on a journey around earths orbit
  • Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring

  • First woman in space

    First woman in space

    Valentina tereshkovo became the first women to go to space
  • The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise

  • First death during a space mission

    First death during a space mission

    Vladimir Mikhalov attempted to land his spacecraft but it got entagled in its parachute causeing it to crash and causeing his death in the process
  • First human lands on the moon

    First human lands on the moon

    Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin from Apollo 11 were the first humans to set foot on the moon
  • First Earth Day – April 22. Millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day. US Environmental Protection Agency established

  • First space station launched

    First space station launched

    Salyut 1 was the first space station launched
  • Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force

  • First rover to operate on another planet

    First rover to operate on another planet

    NASA successfully landed and operated a rover on mars for 84 days
  • The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide

  • First people to occupy the international space station

    First people to occupy the international space station

    William Shepard, Yury Gidzenko and Sergey Krikwal become the first residents of the international space station
  • U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol

  • First rocket to return to its launch site

    First rocket to return to its launch site

    Falcon 9 launched and returned to earth
  • U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation

  • A car is launched into space

    A car is launched into space

    Elon musk launched a tesla car into space as a dummy payload durning the Falcon heavy test flight
  • U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation