Important dates in space exploration

First applications satellite sent to space

Apr 1, 1960

The United states sends the first ever applications satellite into space

First recovery from space orbit

Aug 11, 1960

The United States' discoverer 13 brings back the first payload from space

first Human to orbit earth

Apr 12, 1961

Yury Gagarin of the USSR was the first human to orbit earth

first data returned from another planet

Dec 14, 1962

The United States' Mariner 2 gets data from venus for the first time

first woman in space

Jun 16, 1963

The USSR sends Valentina Treshkova to space

first satellite to operate in geostationary orbit

Jul 26, 1963

The United States sends Syncom 2 as the first satellite to operate in orbit

First space walk

Mar 18, 1965

The USSR sends Aleksey Leonov on Voskhod 2 for the first walk in space

First space craft pictures of mars

Jul 16, 1965

the united states flew Mariner 4 into space to capture pictures of mars

first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon

Feb 3, 1966

USSR's Luna 9 is the first shuttle to land without much damage on the moon

first death during a space mission

Apr 24, 1967

Vladimir Komarov on Soyuz 1 from the USSR was the first to pass away during a space mission