The Evolution of Space Travel

  • Neil Armstrong

    This day marks one of the most important days in History, the day humans landed on the moon. The Apollo 11, carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, lifted of on July 16, and four days later, they were in lunar orbit. Neil and Buzz descend in the Eagle and onto the surface on the moon. And of course, the infamous quote made by Neil Armstrong, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".
  • Alan Shepard

    In 1971, Shepard became the fifth man to walk on the moon in the Apollo 14 mission, and the first person to play golf on the moon. He had brought his own golf clubs for this specific purpose. Shepard retired in 1979.
  • Voyager 1 Launches

    The Voyager 1's mission was to observe and take photos of the four outer planets and their moons of our Solar System. Placed in the Voyager 1 includes photographs and songs of the diverse life on Earth. The hope is, if there are other forms of life, they will find the Voyager and discover what our planet is like.
  • Voyager 2

    The Voyager 2, like it's twin the Voyager 1, was designed to capture photos of the outer four planets. Now that it has done so, it is now observing the outermost parts of our solar system and where the Sun's magnetic field ends.
  • The Challenger Disaster

    On it's tenth mission, the Challenger exploded in the sky due to two faulty O-rings. The O-rings were malfunctioning because of the cold weather that day. Seven individuals were killed in the explosion, including New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe.
  • Mars Pathfinder

    NASA's Mars Pathfinder was the first probe to ever touch Mars's surface. Pathfinder was supposed to stay on Mars for 4 months, but because of all the new discoveries, NASA decided to keep it on the red planet for over a year.
  • International Space Station Launching

    The ISS is the largest body in space currently. It is in low Earth orbit, and can often can be seen with the naked eye. The ISS had to be launched in separate pieces and assembled in space, totaling to 40 separate missions.
  • New Horizons

    New Horizons was the first Satellite to reach and take photos of Pluto at the edge of our solar system. We now have high definition photos of the dwarf planet's icy surface, and even its moon, Charon. The reason for these photos is for NASA to observe planets that are far away from the sun, even when the solar radiation is still within reach.
  • Voyager 1 Becomes Interstellar

    At this time, it has been recorded that Voyager 1 has left our solar system and taken its first steps into interstellar space, making it the first probe to leave our tiny solar-wind bubble.
  • Scott Kelly Returns to Earth

    Astronaut Scott Kelly spend 340 Earth days in space, he finally returned home on March 1. Scott's mission was for him to be in space for over a year while scientists tested the effects of microgravity on Scott's body. These tests can help scientists prepare to send future astronauts to successful missions to Mars and beyond.