Space Exploration of 1981-Present Day

First Spacecraft Beyond Neptune

Jun 13, 1983

The first spacecraft (Pioneer 10) that had made it outside of Neptune's orbit.

First Long Term Reasearch Station

Feb 19, 1986

The first consistently inhabited research station- Mir- USSR.

First Polar Orbit Around the Sun

Feb 8, 1992

The first polar orbit took place around the sun- made possible by both NASA and ESA (European Space Agency).

First Orbit of Jupiter

Dec 7, 1995

NASA used the spacecraft Galileo to orbit Jupiter.

First Orbit of Saturn

Jul 1, 2004

Working together, NASA, ESU (European Space Union), and ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) sent Cassini-Huygens into orbit around Saturn.