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Sputnik/Mercury/Gemini
Sputnik 1 was the first man-made object sent into orbit. It was invented by Russian scientists during the Cold War. It launched on October 4th, 1957. Mercury was a sereis of programs created by NASA. It was created to send an American into space. Its launch occurred on October 7th, 1958. The Gemini Program was a continuation of the Mercury Program. The Gemini Program was larger than the Mercury and lasted from 1965 to 1966. This event occurred in the United States. -
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Pioneer Program
The Pioneer Program was a series of spacecrafts made to gather maps of IMF, solar readings, and information on the radiation belts of Jupiter and Saturn. Pioneers 0-2 failed to get to the Moon, however 3 and 4 were successful. Pioneer 5 mapped IMF. Pioneers 6-9 were solar monitors and 10 and 11 were launched into Saturn. Pioneers 12 and 13 observed Venus. Pioneer 0 was launched August 17, 1958 and Pioneer 13 burned in the Venusian atmosphere on December 9th, 1978. -
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Venera Probes
The Venera Probes were a series of probes sent to Venus to collect information about Venus's rock structure. 10 of the 16 probes that were launched actually reached Venus. Venera 1-8 were launched by Molneira booster rockets. It took about 3-4 months for the probes to reach Venus. -
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Mariner Program
The Mariner Program was created by NASA. The goal of the program was to send probes to Venus. The project cost 544 million dollars. Mariner 1 was launched on July 22nd, 1962. Mariner 2 was launched on August 27, 1962. Mariners 3 and 4 were both launched on November 28, 1964. All aricrafts were made in a hexagonal or octagonal shape. The Mariner Program sent the first interplanetary probes to come near Venus. -
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The Viking Probes
The Viking Probes were a series of probes launched to Mars to gather information on the possibility of intelligent life. The probes cost a total of a billion dollars. Viking 1 launched on August 20th, 1975. Viking 2 launched on September 9th, 1975. Viking 1 orbited Mars on June 9th, 1976. Viking 2 orbited Mars onn August 7th, 1976. The probes and the program was created by NASA. -
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Voyager Probes
Created by NASA, the Voyager Probes were the first machines to come close to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Voyager 1 launched on September 5th, 1977. Voyager 2 launched on August 20th, 1978. NASA wanted to study the outer solar system and search for the heliopause boundary. Each Voyager contained 65,000 parts. NASA scientists inserted information about Earth in case it found by intelligent life. -
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Mars Rover
NASA and Donna Shirley created the Mars Rover. Construction of the rover began in 1980. In 1991, the first mission is proposed, but he cost is too high. In 1993, the Mars Rover leaked its fuel and triggered an explosion. Donna and her team build a smaller, faster rover with new technology in 1994. In 1996, the rover achieved lift off. On September 27th, 1997, the rover sends out its last complete transition. The rover runs out of battery on October 7th, 1997. -
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Space Shuttle Program
The Space Shuttle Program was created in 1972 by Ronald Reagan, NASA, and the Air Force. NASA's goal was to create a spacecraft that could take off like a rocket, orbit Earth, and land on Earth while also being able to transport astronauts and make multiple flights into space. The Space Shuttle Program saved the United States money and was used to repair satellites and other spacecraft. The first shuttle was launched April 12th 1981 and the last shuttle landed on July 21, 2011. -
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Magellan Spacecraft
NASA created the Magellan spacecraft. It was made to map the surface of Venus and launched on May 4th, 1989 at the Kennedy Space Center. It was made completely of spare parts and created topographic maps with its radar. The spacecraft arrived at Venus on August 10th, 1990, but lost its signal on October 12th, 1990. The spacecraft was presumed to be destroyed on October 13, 1990. -
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Galileo Spacecraft
The Galileo Spacecraft was created by NASA to verify a large impact basin on JUpiter's moon. The spacecraft was launched on October 18th, 1989 and arrived at Jupiter in December of 1995. It cost 1.5 billion dollars. The spacecraft discovered a possible ocean beneath Jupiter's moon and discovered a group of interplanetary dust storms. Scientists used technology from the Galileo and the Hubble to study the gas planets. The program ended September 21st, 2003. -
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into space by NASA in 1990. It was created to take pictures of the solar system. In 1977, Congress approved funding for the Hubble Project. The first servicing mission occurred in 1993 and the fourth servicing mission occurred in 2009. The Hubble cost $36,000,000 and weighs 24,500 pounds. It has made 110,000 trips around the Earth. -
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Cassini Program
The Cassini Program was created by NASA, the European Space Agency, and other various countries. It was made to take pictures of Saturn and its moons and rings. The project launched in October 1997 and will finish taking pictures in 2017. Taking picturesof Saturn and its moons will help us to understand the chemical and physical evolution of our solar system. The project cost $475 million. A camera is used to move the probe after its magnometer detects a magnetic field to take the pictures. -
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Genesis
The Genesis was a sample probe created by NASA to collect solar wind and bring it back to Earth. The sample probe entered Earth's atmosphere, but crashed, contaminating most of the samples. The probe launched August 8th, 2000, and crash landed on Earth on September 8th, 2004. Three collector arrays in the probe collected the dust while monitors on the probe observed dust passing by. -
International Space Station Launched
The ISS was the first space station created to be shared and used by multiple countries. NASA, Russia, Japan, and Europe all contributed to it. It costs roughly 100 billion dollars. Its parts docked on November 2nd, 2000. -
N.E.A.R. Mission
The N.E.A.R. mission was created to probe an asteroid. It cost 223 million dollars. The record of the first spacecraft to ever orbit an asteroid and then land on it happened here at the N.E.A.R. mission. NASA created the spacecraft and the mission.
