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Space Exploration Timeline
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Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 was the world's first artificial satellite. It was launched by the Soviet Union on the 4th of October, 1957. It was about the size of a beach ball and marked the start of the "Space Race". -
Explorer 1
The Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States in response to the Sputnik 1. It was used to measure the radiation environment outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Had a micrometeorite microphone and erosion gauges to sense impact with tiny meteorites. -
Mercury Freedom 7
U.S. Navy Commander Alan B. Shepard Jr. was the first American citizen to travel in outer space. He was in the Mercury Freedom 7 capsule and made observations about space, though the mission only lasted 15 minutes. He proved that man could survive and function in outer space. -
Gemini 3
This mission lasted about 5 hours, with pilots Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young on board. The main objectives were to test a two-man design and demonstrate manned space travel. The reentry was miscalculated slightly, and the spacecraft was recovered by the USS Intrepid. -
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 was manned by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. It was the first successful mission to put men on the moon. The mission completed the goal set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. -
Viking 1
Viking 1 was a successful mission to land an unmanned probe on the surface of Mars. The Viking 1 sent the first photographs of Mars’ surface from close-up back to Earth. With Viking 2, the two probes took more than 1400 of Mars’ surface. -
Voyager 1
The Voyager 1 was launched after its twin, Voyager 2, on September 5th, 1977. Voyager 1 began interstellar travel on August 25, 2012. It is now 11.66 billion miles from the sun. -
Columbia Space Shuttle
Columbia was the first space shuttle to orbit Earth, and it orbited the planet 37 times before landing. It was the first reusable space shuttle. It was named after the Columbia River by a boat captain. -
Mars Pathfinder
Mars Pathfinder was a probe set to launch on December 4th, 1996, with a destination of Mars. One of its objectives was to demonstrate a cost-effective approach to space exploration. It used a parachute to descend to Mars' surface and, once there, gathered data about the planet. -
International Space Station
The construction of the International Space Station - approx. the size of a football field - began in the year of 1998. On November 2nd, 2000, the station was boarded by William Shepherd, Sergei K. Krikalev, and Yuri Gidzenko. As of today, the station has been visited by 204 individuals. -
Spirit and Opportunity
The twin robots were launched on the 7th and 10th of July, when they began their journeys to Mars. Their primary scientific mission was to search for traces of water on the surface of the planet, using rocks. They were equipped with a number of scientific tools to analyze the minerals of Mars, which show promise of a past with water. -
Kepler
Kepler was launched on March 7th, 2009, and named after an astronomer, Johannes Kepler. Johannes Kepler was the founder of celestial mechanics, as he thoroughly explored the idea of planetary movement. Kepler, the space observatory, meant to search for planets that could potentially have life - Earth-like planets. -
Curiosity
Curiosity is a robot set to explore Mars' surface after being launched on November 26th, 2011. It landed at Gale Crater and was to determine wether Mars could potentially harbor life. It is about the size of a car and has tools to detect life and study the conditions on Mars.
