History of Space Exploration Timeline
From Chinese fire arrows and Goddard's first liquid-fueled rocket through Apollo, the Space Shuttle, the ISS and robotic explorers across the solar system, to reusable boosters and the Artemis missions.
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Key events
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky publishes spaceflight theory
Tsiolkovsky publishes a mathematical study of rocket propulsion and describes the potential for liquid-fueled rockets to reach space.
Hermann Oberth publishes The Rocket into Planetary Space
Oberth's book helps establish astronautics as a serious technical field.
Robert Goddard tests a liquid-fueled rocket
Goddard launches the first successful liquid-fueled rocket from a farm in Massachusetts.
First V-2 rocket reaches space altitude
A German V-2 rocket flight exceeds the commonly used 100-kilometer boundary of space during a test flight.
Operation Paperclip begins
The United States transfers selected German scientists and engineers to America to support military and aerospace research.
First image of Earth from space
A camera carried by a V-2 rocket captures images of Earth from about 105 kilometers above the surface.
Project Vanguard announced
The United States selects the Vanguard program to develop a scientific satellite for the International Geophysical Year.
US announces satellite plans
The Eisenhower administration announces that the United States plans to launch an artificial satellite during the International Geophysical Year.
USSR announces satellite plans
The Soviet Union publicly indicates that it is also planning an artificial satellite for the International Geophysical Year.
International Geophysical Year
–An international scientific program coordinates observations of Earth and space and creates a major opportunity for the first artificial satellites.
Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, a 58 cm metal sphere whose radio beeps can be heard around the world. It starts the Space Race.
Sputnik 2 carries Laika into orbit
The dog Laika becomes the first animal to orbit Earth. She dies within hours, and the spacecraft was never designed to return.
US Vanguard TV3 launch failure
The Vanguard TV3 rocket fails shortly after liftoff in a highly publicized setback for the American satellite effort.
Explorer 1, the first US satellite
Launched by the Army's Jupiter-C rocket, Explorer 1 carries James Van Allen's instruments, which find the radiation belts around Earth.
Mercury program begins
NASA's Project Mercury develops the spacecraft and procedures for America's first crewed orbital spaceflights.
NASA begins operations
NASA officially begins operations and absorbs much of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
Luna 2 reaches the Moon
Luna 2 becomes the first human-made object to reach the lunar surface by impact.
TIROS-1 launched
TIROS-1 becomes the first successful weather satellite and demonstrates the value of space-based cloud observation.
Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space
Aboard Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin makes one orbit of Earth in 108 minutes and becomes the first person to travel into space.
Apollo program
–NASA's crewed lunar exploration program develops the spacecraft and missions that carry astronauts to the Moon.
Alan Shepard, the first American in space
Alan Shepard flies Freedom 7 on a 15-minute suborbital flight, three weeks after Gagarin's orbit.
Kennedy commits to landing a human on the Moon
President John F. Kennedy asks Congress to support landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth before the decade ends.
Vostok 2 completes a day in orbit
Gherman Titov spends more than 25 hours in orbit and becomes the first person to sleep in space.
John Glenn orbits Earth
John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth aboard Friendship 7.
First woman in space
Valentina Tereshkova flies aboard Vostok 6 and becomes the first woman in space.
First spacewalk
Alexei Leonov exits Voskhod 2 and becomes the first person to conduct a spacewalk.
Early communications satellite Early Bird
Intelsat I enters commercial service and enables live transatlantic television and telecommunications via satellite.
First successful Mars flyby
Mariner 4 conducts the first successful flyby of Mars and returns images and measurements of the planet.
Mariner 4 photographs Mars
Mariner 4 returns the first close-up images of Mars and provides the first successful planetary flyby data from the planet.
Luna 9 makes first soft Moon landing
Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to achieve a survivable soft landing on the Moon and return photographs from the surface.
First controlled docking in space
Gemini 8 astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott perform the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit.
Luna 10 enters lunar orbit
Luna 10 becomes the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon and returns scientific measurements.
Surveyor 1 lands on the Moon
Surveyor 1 achieves the first successful American soft landing on the lunar surface.
Apollo 1 fire
A cabin fire during a ground test kills astronauts Gus Grissom Ed White and Roger Chaffee and leads to major Apollo safety changes.
Outer Space Treaty signed
The United States the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom sign a treaty establishing key principles for peaceful space exploration and prohibiting national claims of sovereignty over celestial bodies.
Venera 4 reaches Venus
Venera 4 returns atmospheric data from Venus and becomes the first probe to transmit information from another planet's atmosphere.
Apollo 8 orbits the Moon
Apollo 8 carries humans to lunar orbit for the first time and returns the iconic Earthrise photograph.
Apollo 11 Moon landing
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon while Michael Collins remains in lunar orbit.
Apollo 13 emergency
–An oxygen tank explosion forces Apollo 13 to abandon its lunar landing; the crew uses the lunar module as a lifeboat and returns safely to Earth.
China launches Dong Fang Hong 1
China launches its first satellite and becomes the fifth country to place an artificial satellite in orbit.
Lunokhod 1 begins lunar rover operations
Lunokhod 1 becomes the first remote-controlled rover to operate on another celestial body.
First human-made object on another planet
Venera 7 becomes the first spacecraft to transmit data from the surface of another planet after landing on Venus.
Salyut 1 launched
Salyut 1 becomes the first space station placed in orbit and begins the era of long-duration orbital habitation.
Apollo 15 uses the lunar rover
Apollo 15 astronauts use the Lunar Roving Vehicle to explore farther from their landing site.
Mariner 9 orbits Mars
Mariner 9 becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet and maps much of Mars after a global dust storm subsides.
Mars 3 lands on Mars
Mars 3 achieves the first soft landing on Mars but its surface transmissions stop after only seconds.
Pioneer 10 launched
Pioneer 10 begins the first mission to the outer planets and later becomes the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt and fly by Jupiter.
Landsat 1 launched
Landsat 1 begins a continuous program of satellite-based observation of Earth's land surfaces for science and resource management.
Apollo 17 completes the last crewed Moon landing of the Apollo era
Apollo 17 lands in the Taurus-Littrow valley and remains the most recent mission to land humans on the Moon.
Pioneer 11 launched
Pioneer 11 travels to Jupiter and later becomes the first spacecraft to fly past Saturn.
Skylab launched
The United States launches Skylab its first space station which supports three crewed missions and extensive scientific research.
Mariner 10 flies past Venus and Mercury
Mariner 10 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Mercury and uses a Venus flyby to alter its trajectory.
ESA established
The European Space Agency is founded to coordinate European civilian space research and launch programs.
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock in orbit in a symbolic Cold War cooperation mission.
Viking 1 launched
Viking 1 begins a mission that will place an orbiter and lander at Mars to investigate its geology and search for signs of life.
Venera 9 returns surface images of Venus
Venera 9 becomes the first spacecraft to return images from the surface of Venus.
Viking 1 lands on Mars
Viking 1 becomes the first US spacecraft to land successfully on Mars and return extensive surface images and experiments.
Voyager program launched
–Voyager 2 and Voyager 1 launch on missions to study the outer planets and eventually the space beyond the heliosphere.
Voyager 2 launched
Voyager 2 begins a journey that will make it the only spacecraft to visit Uranus and Neptune.
Voyager 1 launched
Voyager 1 launches to explore Jupiter and Saturn and later becomes the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space.
First GPS satellite launched
The United States launches the first satellite in the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System development program.
Voyager 1 flies past Jupiter
Voyager 1 returns detailed observations of Jupiter and discovers active volcanism on its moon Io.
Voyager 2 flies past Jupiter
Voyager 2 conducts its Jupiter flyby and gathers additional data on the planet its rings and its moons.
Ariane 1 launches
Ariane 1 conducts its first successful flight and establishes an independent European commercial satellite launch capability.
Voyager 1 flies past Saturn
Voyager 1 studies Saturn and its moon Titan before continuing toward interstellar space.
First Space Shuttle flight
Columbia launches on STS-1 becoming the first flight of NASA's reusable Space Shuttle system.
Salyut 7 launched
Salyut 7 becomes a major Soviet space station used for extended crewed missions and technical experiments.
Sally Ride becomes first American woman in space
Sally Ride flies aboard Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-7.
First untethered spacewalk
Bruce McCandless II uses a nitrogen-propelled maneuvering unit to travel freely outside the Space Shuttle without a tether.
Voyager 2 flies past Uranus
Voyager 2 makes the only close flyby of Uranus and discovers new moons and rings while studying its atmosphere and magnetic field.
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart shortly after launch killing all seven crew members and grounding the shuttle fleet for nearly three years.
Mir becomes a long-duration research station
–Mir supports a succession of crews and international research missions before being deliberately deorbited in 2001.
Mir space station launched
The Soviet Union launches the core module of Mir which becomes a modular research station in orbit.
Giotto encounters Halley's Comet
The European Space Agency's Giotto probe flies through the inner coma of Halley's Comet and obtains close-up images of its nucleus.
Magellan launched
Magellan launches to map Venus using radar that can penetrate its dense cloud cover.
Galileo launched
Galileo launches toward Jupiter to study the planet its moons and its magnetosphere.
Voyager 1 photographs the Pale Blue Dot
At the request of Carl Sagan Voyager 1 photographs Earth from billions of kilometers away.
Hubble Space Telescope launched
The Hubble Space Telescope begins observations from orbit and transforms astronomy with high-resolution images above Earth's atmosphere.
First exoplanet confirmed around a Sun-like star
Astronomers announce the discovery of 51 Pegasi b the first confirmed planet orbiting a Sun-like star.
Galileo enters orbit around Jupiter
Galileo becomes the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter and releases an atmospheric probe into the planet.
Mars Pathfinder launched
Mars Pathfinder begins a low-cost Mars mission that will deliver a lander and the Sojourner rover.
Mars Pathfinder lands
Mars Pathfinder lands on Mars and deploys Sojourner the first successful rover to operate on the planet.
Cassini-Huygens launched
Cassini-Huygens begins a joint NASA ESA and Italian Space Agency mission to investigate Saturn its rings and its moons.
International Space Station assembly begins
The Russian Zarya module launches as the first component of the International Space Station.
NEAR Shoemaker orbits Eros
NEAR Shoemaker becomes the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
First crew arrives at the ISS
Expedition 1 begins a continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station that continues through the present.
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Space Shuttle Columbia breaks apart during reentry killing all seven crew members and leading to a major review of shuttle safety.
Hayabusa launched
Japan's Hayabusa mission sets out to sample the asteroid Itokawa and return material to Earth.
Mars Exploration Rovers launched
–NASA launches Spirit and Opportunity to investigate Martian geology and search for evidence of past water.
First Chinese astronaut in space
Yang Liwei flies aboard Shenzhou 5 making China the third country to independently send a human into space.
Mars Express arrives at Mars
The European Space Agency's Mars Express enters orbit around Mars to study its atmosphere and surface.
Spirit lands on Mars
Spirit lands in Gusev Crater and begins a rover mission that greatly exceeds its planned duration.
Opportunity lands on Mars
Opportunity lands on Meridiani Planum and finds geological evidence that liquid water once altered Martian rocks.
Rosetta launched
Rosetta begins a long journey to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and deploy a lander.
Cassini enters orbit around Saturn
Cassini begins an extensive orbital investigation of Saturn and its rings and moons.
MESSENGER launched
MESSENGER launches on a multi-year journey to study Mercury from orbit.
Huygens lands on Titan
The Huygens probe descends through Titan's atmosphere and becomes the first spacecraft to land on a moon in the outer Solar System.
New Horizons launched
New Horizons begins its journey to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
China conducts first spacewalk
Zhai Zhigang conducts China's first spacewalk during the Shenzhou 7 mission.
Chandrayaan-1 launched
India launches its first lunar probe to map the Moon and investigate its mineral composition and water-related signatures.
Kepler space telescope launched
Kepler begins a survey of stars to measure the frequency of planets beyond the Solar System.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launched
NASA launches the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to map the Moon and identify potential future landing sites.
LCROSS detects water at the Moon
The LCROSS impact experiment finds evidence of water in material ejected from a permanently shadowed lunar crater.
Hayabusa returns asteroid samples
Hayabusa's return capsule brings the first confirmed samples from an asteroid to Earth.
Juno launched
Juno begins a mission to study Jupiter's interior atmosphere gravity and magnetic field.
SpaceX Dragon becomes first commercial spacecraft to reach the ISS
Dragon completes a successful cargo demonstration mission to the International Space Station and establishes a new commercial resupply capability.
Curiosity rover lands on Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover lands in Gale Crater to investigate whether Mars ever had environments suitable for microbial life.
MAVEN launched
MAVEN launches to study how Mars lost much of its atmosphere.
China's Chang'e 3 lands on the Moon
Chang'e 3 achieves China's first lunar soft landing and deploys the Yutu rover.
Rosetta arrives at comet 67P
Rosetta becomes the first spacecraft to orbit a comet and studies its activity as it approaches the Sun.
India's Mars Orbiter Mission reaches Mars
Mangalyaan enters Mars orbit on its first attempt making India the first country to achieve Mars orbit on its maiden mission.
Philae lands on a comet
The Philae lander separates from Rosetta and becomes the first probe to land on a comet's nucleus.
New Horizons flies past Pluto
New Horizons returns the first close-up images of Pluto and its moons revealing mountains glaciers and a complex atmosphere.
First gravitational waves detected
LIGO detects gravitational waves from merging black holes opening a new way to observe the universe; the result is announced in 2016.
SpaceX lands an orbital-class booster
SpaceX successfully lands the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket after an orbital launch marking a milestone in reusable launch systems.
Juno enters Jupiter orbit
Juno enters a polar orbit around Jupiter to investigate the planet's structure and origins.
OSIRIS-REx launched
OSIRIS-REx launches to study the near-Earth asteroid Bennu and return a sample.
China launches Tiangong-2 space laboratory
Tiangong-2 supports crewed and automated experiments and advances China's preparation for a permanent space station.
First successful commercial reuse of an orbital rocket booster
SpaceX reflies a previously flown Falcon 9 first stage and lands it successfully after launch.
TESS launched
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite begins searching nearby stars for transiting exoplanets.
Parker Solar Probe launched
Parker Solar Probe begins a mission to study the Sun's corona and solar wind from unprecedented proximity.
InSight lands on Mars
InSight lands on Mars to measure seismic activity and investigate the planet's internal structure.
Chang'e 4 lands on the lunar far side
China's Chang'e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon and deploys the Yutu-2 rover.
First image of a black hole released
The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration releases the first image of a black hole's shadow in the galaxy M87.
Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches
SpaceX launches astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS in the first crewed orbital flight from US soil since 2011.
Mars 2020 mission launches
NASA launches the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter to explore Jezero Crater.
Hope Mars orbiter arrives
The United Arab Emirates' Hope probe enters Mars orbit to study the planet's atmosphere and climate.
Tianwen-1 reaches Mars
China's Tianwen-1 mission enters Mars orbit before deploying an orbiter lander and rover.
Perseverance lands on Mars
Perseverance lands in Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microbial life and collect samples for possible return to Earth.
James Webb Space Telescope launched
The James Webb Space Telescope launches to study the early universe exoplanets and the formation of stars and galaxies.
James Webb releases first science images
The first full-color science images from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal distant galaxies nebulae and exoplanet observations.
Artemis I launches
The uncrewed Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket fly around the Moon and return safely to Earth in the first Artemis mission.
JUICE launches toward Jupiter
The European Space Agency launches the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer to investigate Ganymede Callisto and Europa.
Chandrayaan-3 lands near the lunar south pole
India's Chandrayaan-3 achieves a soft landing near the Moon's south polar region and deploys the Pragyan rover.
OSIRIS-REx sample returns to Earth
OSIRIS-REx delivers a sample from asteroid Bennu to Earth for detailed laboratory analysis.
Psyche launches
NASA's Psyche mission begins its journey to study a metal-rich asteroid that may reveal clues about planetary cores.
SLIM lands on the Moon
Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon achieves a lunar landing and demonstrates precision landing technology.
Intuitive Machines IM-1 lands on the Moon
The Odysseus lander becomes the first US spacecraft to land softly on the Moon since Apollo and the first commercial lander to do so.
Chang'e 6 returns far-side lunar samples
China's Chang'e 6 mission returns the first samples ever collected from the far side of the Moon.
Hera launches to study asteroid deflection
The European Space Agency launches Hera to examine the DART impact site and refine planetary-defense techniques.
Europa Clipper launches
NASA launches Europa Clipper to investigate whether Jupiter's moon Europa has conditions suitable for life.
Blue Ghost Mission 1 lands on the Moon
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander completes a successful commercial lunar landing and conducts surface science and technology demonstrations.
SPHEREx space telescope launches
NASA launches SPHEREx to survey the entire sky in infrared light and investigate cosmic history and the origins of life-related ingredients.
Artemis II flies four astronauts around the Moon
–Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen fly the Orion capsule Integrity around the Moon and splash down off San Diego after 10 days, the first crew to leave Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Crewed Mars exploration proposed
2030sGovernment agencies and commercial companies study crewed Mars missions as a long-term objective; no human landing date is established.
21 more in the interactive timeline.
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