Timeline of Space Exploration

By MM21254
  • Galileo discovers four moons around Jupiter

    Galileo discovers four moons around Jupiter
    This is important because at the time it proved to many people that the Earth was not the center of the universe if Jupiter had the same concepts of moons revolving around it as well.
  • Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Publishes his Rocket Equation

    Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Publishes his Rocket Equation
    This is a very important piece of space history because it establishes the relationship among the motion of vehicles that follow the basic principle of a rocket: a device that can apply acceleration to itself (a thrust) by expelling part of its mass with high speed and thereby move due to the conservation of momentum, that astronomers still use today is the basic stage of building a rocket.
  • Hermann Oberth launches a rocket

    Hermann Oberth launches a rocket
    Launching a rocket to collect data, Oberth finds that a rocket must have a lighter fuel, and thinks rockets should use a multi-stage design to pass through Earth's gravitational pull.
  • Robert Goddard launches the first liquid fuel rocket

    Robert Goddard launches the first liquid fuel rocket
    This is very significant to rocket history because Goddard's data from his liquid fueled rocket shows what conditions and procedures scientist and astronomers must follow to keep rocket missions safe.
  • USA launches the Explorer 1

    USA launches the Explorer 1
    This was the first USA satellite to orbit Earth, and scientist were able to make advancements to bigger projects later on based off of Explorer 1. This also put tension on the USSR for not putting anything in space yet, and what would soon become the famously Space Race for what country could do the most important things in space.
  • The USSR launches Sputnik

    The USSR launches Sputnik
    Sputnik, an artificial satellite began the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the USA. During the Space Race many great advancement and projects happend for the USA space program, NASA.
  • Yuri Gagarin, of the USSR becomes the first man to orbit space

    Yuri Gagarin, of the USSR becomes the first man to orbit space
    This is very significant part of the Space Race because not only are scientist and astronomers are getting first hand information of what space is really like, but it promoted America to go beyond just putting a man in space.
  • Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon

    Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon
    As part of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on top of the moon, collecting data about what its surface is like and what Earth looks like from a distance. This also ended the Space Race between the USSR and the USA because it would be inhuman to go or travel anywhere else in space.
  • The Mariner 10 gives photos of Mercury to NASA

    The Mariner 10 gives photos of Mercury to NASA
    The photos from the Mariner 10 allowed scientist and astronomers look more in depth on the planets closer to the sun and what the planets premature life might have looked liked compared to Earths, as well as build more projects that could have potential to find more about different planets.
  • The Viking Probe 1 land successfully on Mars

    The Viking Probe 1 land successfully on Mars
    The Viking Probe 1 was significant for learning even more about a planet than just outside of the atmosphere. Although it did take pictures outside of Mars, the Viking Probe was successfully landed on Mars and was able to pick up certain aspect of the planet.
  • The Discovery Space Mission goes up to Hubble

    During this expedition, the Discovery space shuttle went up to Hubble Space telescope to make some minor changes in technology, but to also put Hubble in a better orbit to collect more data and pictures at a higher quality to improve space sciences/
  • Comet Shoemaker Levy crashes into Jupiter

    Comet Shoemaker Levy crashes into Jupiter
    This event gave scientist data and information to what could happen to Earth if any comet was to crash into our orbit, but also gave data to scientist on the new weather patterns happening on Jupiter and what effect the comet had on the planet.
  • Evidence shows water once being on Mars

    Over a year study showed that water had once been on the planet Mars due to the sedimentary rock, and other aspects that the water had left behind. This lead up to a series of more questions, the most popular one is, "Is there other life outside of Earth?".
  • Spirit Rover lands on Mars

    Spirit Rover lands on Mars
    The Spirit Rover did much more than the Viking Probes on Mars because the rovers were able to roam around the landscape of Mars and collect data about what rocks were made up of and send it back to Earth to let us know more about the planet Mars and if anything could still be possibly living on the planet.
  • The International Space Station is done being built

    The International Space Station is done being built
    The importance of the ISS being finished is huge in the space industry because from the time the ISS was just being built to the time it was ended at, (a ten year time span) all of the technology on the ISS was up to date. Also, the work with 15 other space programs has helped all aboard the ISS learn more about space.