Space race

First Russian probe

Oct 4, 1957

The Sputnik 1 launching started the space race. It was humanity's first artificial satellite.
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_924.html

Explorer 1 Launches

Jan 31, 1958

First US satellite to launch. It could measure the radiation environment.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer-overview.html

First spacecraft to reach the moon

Jan 2, 1959

The Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the moon. It was launched by the Soviets. It was made to measure the temperature and pressure of space.
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-012A

Number 65 Launched

Jan 31, 1961

Ham the chimp was the first monkey in space. He preformed his lever pulling tasks and survived the flight.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/chimpanzee-ham-with-trainers

The Columbus of The Cosmos

Apr 12, 1961

Yuri Gagarin was the first human to orbit earth. He was part of the Soviet air force and only manned one mission.
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/gagarin.html

First American in space

May 5, 1961

Alan Shepherd was the first american in space and he later walked on the moon. He was on the Mercury 7 and did not orbit earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/who-was-alan-shepard-k4.html

First Mercury astronaut

Feb 20, 1962

John Glen's flight on the Freedom 7 was risky. the automatic controls failed but he survived to tell the tale.
https://www.nasa.gov/content/profile-of-john-glenn

The Gemini program

Apr 8, 1964

It was a early NASA program that proved astronauts could fly in space. There were many missions and it ended in 1966.
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-was-gemini-program-58.html

First manned mission attempt

Jan 27, 1967

The Apollo 1 during a rehearsal attempt caught fire killing it's crew. It made many realize how dangerous the missions actually were.
https://www.space.com/17338-apollo-1.html

Apollo 8 launches

Dec 21, 1968

It demonstrate trans lunar injection; CSM navigation, communications and mid-course corrections.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo8.html

First manned mission that land on the moon

May 25, 1969

The Apollo 11 landed on the moon and returned ending the space race. The US won the race and Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon was televised.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html