Milestones of Space Exploration

Launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, Sputnik 1 was Earth's first artificial satellite. It marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-Soviet space race, leading to the creation of NASA in 1958.

Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first human in space in 1961. His spacecraft, Vostok 1, completed one orbit around Earth, cementing his legendary status.

NASA's Apollo program achieved the first manned moon landing with Apollo 11 in 1969. This monumental event was broadcast live, with Neil Armstrong's 'small step' becoming a symbol of human achievement.

Deployed in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionized astronomy. Orbiting outside Earth's distorting atmosphere, it has captured images of the universe's most distant galaxies and contributed to the discovery of dark energy.

NASA's Mars rovers, like Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity, have been traversing the Martian terrain since 2004. These robotic explorers have found evidence of water and are paving the way for future human missions.

ESA's Rosetta mission achieved the first-ever soft landing on a comet in 2014. The Philae lander analyzed Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, offering insights into the early solar system.

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, revolutionized spaceflight with reusable rockets, reducing costs significantly. In 2020, SpaceX's Crew Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to carry astronauts to the ISS.

Astronauts left retroreflectors on the moon, allowing precise Earth-Moon distance measurements via laser beams, accurate to millimeters!