Ancient to Modern Day Space Exploration

Ptolemy

140

Ptolemy was born is 100 and died in 170. He was the first to theorize that Earth is at the center of the universe. This model is called the geocentric model.

Aristotle

384

Aristotle was born in 384 B.C.E and died in 322 B.C.E. He belived the universe was Geocentric, the same as Ptolemy. He thought that the stars we see are other suns far away and that our sun is much larger than Earth, it is also very far away.

Copernicus

Feb 9, 1473

Copernicus was born in 1473 and died in 1543. He began to bring together information to prove the heliocentric model in 1508, as well as make it. In the heliocentric model the sun, rather than the earth, is the center of the solar system. This idea did not go very well with everyone else.

Galileo

Feb 15, 1564

He was born in 1564 and died in 1642. Galileo was known for astronamy, as well as inventing. He was the first person to us a telescope. He used his telescope to observe objects in space including craters, the moon, and sunspots on the Sun. He laso bleived in the heliocentric model of the the universe.

Kepler

Dec 27, 1571

Johannes Kepler was born in 1571 and died in 1630.He said that the planets revovle around the sun. He also theorized the laws of planetary motion that are still in play today.

Space Race

Oct 4, 1957

The united Stares and the Soviet Union competed with each other on who will go up to space first.

Vanguard 1

Mar 17, 1958

Vanguard 1 is the first american sattelite to be launched into space. It contines to function for three years, before going out of commision.

NASA

Oct 1, 1958

National Aeronautice and Space Administration, or NASA, is formed. This is the American space exploration oganization.

Yuri Gagarin

Apr 12, 1961

Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space.

Alan B. Shepard

May 5, 1961

Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space in 1961.

Gus Grissom

Jul 21, 1961

Gus Grissom is launched on a sub-orbital flight. His Liberty-Bell capsule is lost when it fills with water and sinks after splashdown.

Apollo Missions

Oct 27, 1961

The Appollo missions to the moon begin. The Apollo missions were consisting of 15 missions to eventually end up on the moon. There were both crewed and uncrewed missions.

Sputnik 1

Oct 4, 1967

Sputnik 1 was a Soviet Union artificial sattelite. It was also the first sattelite to enter the orbit of earth.

Apollo 11

Jul 16, 1969

The Eagle has landed. The Apollo missions were missions to get to the moon, and orbital missions. Apollo 11 was meant to get to the moon, and that is what it did. Apollo 11 made it to the moon with Neil Armstrong, Michal Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on July 20.

Spirit

Jul 3, 2003

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER) is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers one of them being Spirit. Spirit launched on July 3, 2003, and arrived on January 3, 2004.

Opportunity

Jul 7, 2003

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER) is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers one of them being Opportunity. Opportunity launched on July 7, 2003 and arrived on January 24, 2004.