Early and Late Space Exploration

First telescope

Jan 1, 1610

First telescopic observation of the night sky: Discovery of Jupiter's moons, Lunar craters and the phases of Venus. Observation by Galileo Galilei.

First photo of space

Jan 1, 1813

First clear telescopic photograph of another world: The Moon. Photograph was taken by William Moore

Liquid rocket fuel

Jan 1, 1914

Robert Goddard files for and is subsequently awarded U.S. patents on multistage and liquid-fueled rockets.

First rocket

Mar 16, 1926

Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket.

First space organization

Jan 1, 1927

Society for Space Travel has been formed; it includes many top European rocket scientists.

First military rockets

Jan 1, 1931

First German military liquid-fueled rocket engines developed. The researcher for the rockets was a German scientist named Walter Riedel

First Soviet launch

Aug 17, 1933

Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD) launches the first Soviet liquid-fueled rocket.

First space shuttle

Oct 4, 1942

First vehicle to cross the Kármán line (100 km/~62 mi above the Earth's surface) and thereby enter outer space.

First research flight

May 10, 1946

First space research flight (cosmic radiation experiments) by the U.S.

First animals

Feb 20, 1947

First animals in space (fruit flies) launched by the U.S.

First escape velocity and discoveries

Jan 2, 1959

First firing of a rocket in Earth orbit, first reaching Earth escape velocity or Trans Lunar Injection and first detection of solar wind.

First earth photo

Aug 7, 1959

First photograph of Earth from orbit taken by NASA's explorer 6.

First moon contact

Sep 3, 1959

First impact into another world (the Moon) and first delivery of national (USSR) pennants to a celestial body.

First rocket fire from space

Oct 2, 1959

First firing of a rocket in Earth orbit, first reaching Earth escape velocity or Trans Lunar Injection and first detection of solar wind.

First living return

Aug 16, 1960

First plants and animals to return alive from earths orbit.

First man in space

Apr 12, 1961

First human space flight (Yuri Gagarin) and first human crewed orbital flight.

First planet flyby

May 19, 1961

First planetary flyby ( within 100,000km of Venus with no data returned).

First moon landing

Feb 3, 1966

First soft landing on another world (the moon) and first photos from another world.

First man on the moon

Jul 20, 1969

First human landing on the moon and first space launch from another celestial body with Apollo 11.

First planet landing

Dec 15, 1970

First soft landing on another planet (Venus) and first signals from another.

First reusable space craft

Apr 2, 1981

First Reusable manned spacecraft (orbital). Launched by NASA and called STS-1.

First spacecraft out of solar system

Jun 13, 1983

First spacecraft beyond the orbit of Neptune (first spacecraft to pass beyond all Solar System planets).

Space station

Feb 19, 1986

First consistently inhabited long-term research space station(USSR) called Mir.

First solar system picture

Feb 14, 1990

First photograph of the entire solar system.

First sun orbit

Feb 8, 1992

First polar orbit around the Sun. Launched by NASA and ESA.

Longest space flight

Mar 22, 1995

Record longest duration spaceflight (437.7 days) set by Valeri Polyakov.

First rover

Jul 4, 1997

First operational rover on another planet (Mars) launched by NASA.

Multinational space station

Nov 20, 1998

First multinational space station, and largest man-made object built in space to date. Launched by Russia, USA, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Earth search

Mar 6, 2009

Kepler Mission is launched, first space telescope designated to search for Earth-like exoplanets. Launched by NASA.

Space food

Aug 10, 2015

First food eaten that was grown in space (lettuce).