Dear Lykkers! Space exploration has captivated the human imagination for centuries, sparking our curiosity about the vast unknown.
From the first satellite launched into space to the incredible missions exploring distant planets, the journey has been one of ambition, perseverance, and breakthrough achievements.
Timeline of Space Exploration
1957
October 4 - The first satellite, Sputnik, was launched into space.
November 3 - The spacecraft Sputnik 2 was launched with a dog named Laika on board, who tragically did not survive the voyage.
1958
January 31 - The United States launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit, designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology.
1960
August 19 - Sputnik 5 carried dogs Strelka and Belka, becoming the first living beings to survive a trip into space.
1968
September 15 - The Zond 5 spacecraft became the first to orbit the moon and return to Earth.
December 21 - Apollo 8 was launched, and its crew became the first humans to orbit the moon.
1969
July 20 - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history as the first men to walk on the moon.
1970
April 11 - Apollo 13 was launched.
September 12 - The Luna 16 mission returned the first automatic soil samples from the moon.
November 17 - The Lunokhod 1 rover successfully landed on the moon.
December 15 - Venera 7 became the first probe to land on Venus.
1971
April 19 - The first space station, Salyut 1, was launched.
July 30 - The moon rover was driven on the lunar surface for the first time.
November 13 - Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars.
1972
December 11 - Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt became the last men to walk on the moon.
1973
May 14 - Skylab, the first U.S. space station, was launched.
1975
July 17 - The Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19 spacecraft docked as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
1976
September - Viking 2 discovered water frost on Mars’s surface.
1977
August and September - The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft were launched, with Voyager 1 on a faster trajectory.
1979
March and August - The Voyager spacecraft transmitted stunning images of Jupiter and its moons.
September - Pioneer 11 reached Saturn, sending back its first images.
1980
November 13 - Voyager 1 reached Saturn and transmitted images.
1981
April 12 - The Space Shuttle Columbia became the first shuttle to be launched.
August 26 - Voyager 2 reached Saturn, sending back incredible images.
1983
April 4 - The Space Shuttle Challenger was launched on its first mission.
June 19 - Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard Challenger’s second mission.
August 30 - Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space.
1984
February 3 - Bruce McCandless took the first untethered spacewalk.
August 30 - The Space Shuttle Discovery was launched on its maiden flight.
October - Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space.
The History of Space Exploration: a Timeline
Video by Space Junkies
1985
October 3 - Atlantis, the fourth Space Shuttle, was launched.
1986
January 24 - Voyager 2 began transmitting images of Uranus.
January 28 - The Challenger Space Shuttle tragically exploded moments after liftoff.
February 20 - The core section of Space Station Mir was launched.
1989
August - Voyager 2 began sending back images from Neptune.
1990
August 10 - The Magellan spacecraft began mapping Venus's surface using radar.
August 24 - The Space Shuttle Discovery deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.
1992
May 7 - The Space Shuttle Endeavour made its first voyage.
September 12 - Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman in space.
1993
December - Endeavour completed the first servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope.
1994
February 3 - Sergei Krikalev became the first cosmonaut to fly aboard a Space Shuttle.
1995
February 2 - Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle pilot.
December - The Galileo probe began transmitting data from Jupiter.
1997
July 4 - The Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars and began transmitting data.
1998
October 29 - John Glenn became the oldest man to enter space.
1999
July 23 - Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle Commander.
2000
February 14 - The U.S. Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft began transmitting images of the asteroid Eros.
2001
February 12 - NEAR successfully landed on Eros.
April 28 - Dennis Tito became the first space tourist.
2003
February 1 - The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry.
February 13 - Investigators confirmed that the shuttle’s left wing was compromised during re-entry, leading to the disaster.
August 25 - NASA launched the Spitzer Space Telescope, the largest-diameter infrared telescope in space.
September 21 - The Galileo mission concluded after a 14-year exploration of Jupiter.
2004
January 14 - President Bush proposed a new space program to return humans to the moon and explore Mars.
July 1 - The Cassini spacecraft sent back stunning photos of Saturn’s rings.
2005
July 3 - A NASA spacecraft collided with a comet, creating a cosmic impact to study the building blocks of life.
July 26 - Space Shuttle Discovery launched with seven astronauts aboard.
2006
January 15 - The Stardust spacecraft returned the first comet dust to Earth.
2007
August 4 - NASA launched its Phoenix Mars Lander.
August 8 - Space Shuttle Endeavour launched with teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan.
2008
January 14 - NASA's Messenger spacecraft skimmed above Mercury.
May 25 - NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander landed on Mars and discovered chunks of ice.
2009
March 6 - The Kepler spacecraft launched to search for planets outside our solar system.
June 18 - NASA launched LCROSS to confirm the presence of ice on the moon.
2010
October 10 - Virgin-Galactic’s VSS Enterprise completed its first manned glide flight.
October 11 - President Obama focused NASA’s efforts on Mars and asteroid exploration.
December 8 - SpaceX successfully launched and returned a spacecraft to Earth.
2011
July 8 - The last space shuttle, Atlantis, launched on its final mission.
July 16 - NASA's Dawn spacecraft became the first to orbit an asteroid.
November 26 - Curiosity rover was launched on a mission to Mars.
2012
May 22 - SpaceX launched Dragon C2+ to resupply the ISS.
August - Voyager 1 entered interstellar space.
August 6 - Curiosity successfully landed on Mars.
2013
September 6 - NASA launched the LADEE spacecraft to study the moon.
December 24 - NASA astronauts completed successful repairs during a Christmas Eve spacewalk to fix a cooling system on the ISS.
