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John Flamsteed discovered what is now known today as Uranus, but misidentified it to be a star, naming it '34 Tauri'.
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German farmer and astronomer-in-training Johann Georg Palitzsch was the first to observe the return of Halley's Comet, 1 year after Edmond Halley predicted it would.
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Foundation of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) by 50 astronomers at a meeting at Yerkes Observatory.
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A dog named Laika becomes the first living creature to be sent from Earth into space, aboard Russia's Sputnik 2.
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NASA launches a chimp named Ham into space aboard a Mercury rocket.
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NASA'S Mariner 2 scans the surface of Venus.
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Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space aboard Vostok 6
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Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov makes the first space walk.
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A fire on the launch pad of Apollo 1 kills three US astronauts. Oops.
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First death in space (yet another Soviet cosmonaut named Vladimir Komorov)
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US astronaut becomes the first person to walk on the Moon.
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Russian rover the first vehicle to drive on the moon.
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First successful landing on Mars by space probe Viking 1.
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Twin Mars Exploration Rover missions Spirit and Opportunity land on Mars
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Water was found on Earth's moon.
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NASA's Curiosity Rover is launched.
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Curiosity Rover lands on Mars.