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The Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into space.
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The Soviet craft Sputnik 5 was launched, carrying the dogs Strelka and Belka. They became the first living beings to survive a trip into space.
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Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.
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Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space.
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- President Kennedy challenged the country to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
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- The Russian spacecraft Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to land on the moon.
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- Surveyor 1 became the first American spacecraft to land on the moon.
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- The Soviet spacecraft Zond 5 was launched and later became the first spacecraft to orbit the moon and return to Earth.
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- Apollo 8 was launched, and later her crewmembers became the first men to orbit the moon.
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- Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men on the moon.
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- Apollo 13 was launched.
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- The Soviet craft Luna 16 was launched and became the first automatic spacecraft to return soil samples of the moon.
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- The Soviet Venera 7 became the first probe to land on Venus.
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- The U.S. launched its first space station, Skylab.
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- The American probe Viking 2 discovered water frost on the Martian surface.