Space Exploration Timeline

Oct 12, 1957

Russians launch the first satellite, Sputnik 1
Nov 12, 1957

A dog named Laika becomes the first living creature sent from Earth into space
Jan 12, 1958

Launch of the first US satellite, Explorer 1
Oct 12, 1959

Russian probe Luna 3 sends the first pictures of thee far side of the Moon
Jan 12, 1961

NASA launches a chimpanzee named Ham into space aboard a Mercury rocket
Apr 12, 1961

Russian Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space in a 108 minute flight in Vostok 1
May 12, 1961

First American in space (Alan Shepard)
Feb 12, 1962

First astronaut to orbit the Earth (John Glenn, USA)
Dec 12, 1962

NASA's Mariner 2 scans the surface of Venus
Jun 12, 1963

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
Mar 12, 1965

Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov makes the first space walk
Jul 12, 1965

Mariner 4 flies by Mars
Feb 12, 1966

First Moon landing (by Soviet spacecraft, Luna 9)
Jan 12, 1967

A fire on the launch pad of the Apollo 1 kills 3 people
Apr 12, 1967

First death in space
Oct 12, 1967

Soviet craft Venera 4 lands on Venus
Dec 12, 1968

First crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon (Apollo 8)
Jul 12, 1969

First man on the Moon
Nov 12, 1970

Russian rover the first vehicle to drive on the Moon
Apr 12, 1971

Launch of the first space station
Dec 12, 1973

First space probe to fly by Jupiter (Pioneer 10)
Mar 12, 1974

First space probe to fly by Mercury (Mariner 10)
Jul 12, 1975

First US and Soviet docking
Jul 12, 1976

Fist successful landing on Mars
Sep 12, 1979

First Saturn fly by (Pioneer 11)
Apr 12, 1981

First space shuttle launch
Jan 12, 1986

First Uranus fly by (Voyager 2)
Jan 12, 1986

Space shuttle Challenger explodes during launch
Feb 12, 1986

Launch of Russian space station Mir
Mar 12, 1986

First fly by of Halley's Comet
Aug 12, 1989

First Neptune fly by (Voyager 2)
Apr 12, 1990

Space shuttle Discovery launches the Hubble Space Telescople
Nov 12, 1998

The first part of the International Space Station is launched
Sep 12, 1999

Mars Climate Orbiter disappears
Dec 12, 1999

Mars Polar Lander disappears
Mar 12, 2001

Mir space station is abandoned and crashes to Earth
Apr 12, 2001

First tourist in space
Jan 12, 2003

Twin Mars Lander missions land on Mars
Feb 12, 2003

Space shuttle Columbia explodes on re entry
Period: Feb 12, 2016 to Oct 12, 2017

People have seen three instances of gravitational waves coming from black holes merging
Jun 12, 2017

NASA revealed ten new potentially habitable worlds
Jul 12, 2017

Images from NASA's Juno spacecraft revealed Jupiter's red spot in a completely new level of detail

Russians launch the first satellite, Sputnik 1

A dog named Laika becomes the first living creature sent from Earth into space

Launch of the first US satellite, Explorer 1

Russian probe Luna 3 sends the first pictures of thee far side of the Moon

NASA launches a chimpanzee named Ham into space aboard a Mercury rocket

Russian Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space in a 108 minute flight in Vostok 1

First American in space (Alan Shepard)

First astronaut to orbit the Earth (John Glenn, USA)

NASA's Mariner 2 scans the surface of Venus

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space

Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov makes the first space walk

Mariner 4 flies by Mars

First Moon landing (by Soviet spacecraft, Luna 9)

A fire on the launch pad of the Apollo 1 kills 3 people

First death in space

Soviet craft Venera 4 lands on Venus

First crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon (Apollo 8)

First man on the Moon

Russian rover the first vehicle to drive on the Moon

Launch of the first space station

First space probe to fly by Jupiter (Pioneer 10)

First space probe to fly by Mercury (Mariner 10)

First US and Soviet docking

Fist successful landing on Mars

First Saturn fly by (Pioneer 11)

First space shuttle launch

First Uranus fly by (Voyager 2)

Space shuttle Challenger explodes during launch

Launch of Russian space station Mir

First fly by of Halley's Comet

First Neptune fly by (Voyager 2)

Space shuttle Discovery launches the Hubble Space Telescople

The first part of the International Space Station is launched

Mars Climate Orbiter disappears

Mars Polar Lander disappears

Mir space station is abandoned and crashes to Earth

First tourist in space

Twin Mars Lander missions land on Mars

Space shuttle Columbia explodes on re entry

People have seen three instances of gravitational waves coming from black holes merging

NASA revealed ten new potentially habitable worlds

Images from NASA's Juno spacecraft revealed Jupiter's red spot in a completely new level of detail