Space Exploration Timeline

By s-aheroor
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    Space Exploration Timeline

  • Sputnik Program

    The Sputnik program was created in the Soviet Union by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Its orbit around Earth lasted 98 minutes but burned in the atmosphere.

  • Venera Probe 1

    The Venera Probe 1 was launched on February 12, 1961. It was one of the few successful probes launched and its intention was to study Venus.

  • Mariner 1

    The Mariner 1 was launched but was unsuccessful along with 3 and 8.

  • Venera 3

    This probe was destroyed before it even left the atmosphere. Basically the probe burned within the atmosphere. But its intention was the same as Venera 1.

  • Venera 7

    Venera 7 was launched on August 17, 1970. Just like the others, it had a communication system to send back data to Earth.

  • Pioneer 10

    The Pioneer 10 was a part of the Pioneer program. It was the first spacecraft to travel completely through the asteroid belt. It researched Jupiter and interstellar medium.

  • Pioneer 11

    This followed the Pioneer 10 to Jupiter and was the last part of the Pioneer program. It researched Jupiter, interstellar medium and Saturn.

  • Mariner 10

    This was the last part of the Mariner Mission because Mariner 11 and 12 were turned into the Voyager program. Throughout the Mariner missions, they discovered that Mars does not have a magnetic field and that there is no wind or water there either.

  • Venera 10

    Venera 10 was the first probe to send back pictures.

  • Viking 1

    Viking 1 was launched on August 20, 1975 as a part of the Viking Program.

  • Viking 2

    The Viking 2 (after the Viking 1) was launched on September 9, 1975. Both itself and Viking 1 were launched to explore, find life, and find water on Mars.

  • Voyager 1 Probe

    The Voyager probes were created to study Jupiter and Saturn. The probes are still in space. NASA and United States were involved.

  • Apollo 11

    Apollo 11 was the first successful space shuttle. It was launched in 1982 (exact date unknown). The goal of space shuttles were to land on the Moon. There were total of 6 successful landings on the Moon.

  • MIR Space Station (Start of)

    The MIR space station orbited Earth and it lasted the longest out of all. This took 10 years total to assemble and build the station itself.

  • Voyager 2 Probe

    The Voyager probes were created to study Jupiter and Saturn. The probes are still in space. NASA and United States were involved. 5 trillion bits of data came back to Earth from these probes.

  • Magellan Mission

    The Magellan Mission was launched to explore Venus. The mission lasted 4 years and 2 months. The spacecraft and its probes lost communication on October 12, 1994.

  • Hubble Space Telescope

    The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990. It has been in operation for 22 years (it is still operating in the present). It was originally scheduled to launch in 1986 but was delayed and postponed until 1990.

  • Genesis Spacecraft

    The Genesis Spacecraft was launched to study how the Sun has changed. They discovered that the Sun has remained the same for millions of years. It was also the first spacecraft to collect solar wind.

  • N.E.A.R. Mission

    The spacecraft was launched on February 17, 1997 to land on and orbit an asteroid (Eros).

  • Cassini Equinox Mission (Launched)

    This was the first spacecraft to acquire up-close images of Saturn. It discovered 5 moons and was the farthest place NASA ever traveled. France, Italy, and U.S. were mainly involved.

  • N.E.A.R. Mission (Eros)

    It landed on Eros on February 12, 2000. The spacecraft entered orbit with Eros on February 14, 2000.

  • N.E.A.R. Mission Lost Contact

    The spacecraft lost contact with Earth on Febrary 28, 2001. Originally it was not supposed to land but it landed and operated for 16 days before it lost contact. First to prove that something could land and orbit an asteroid.

  • MIR Space Station (End of)

    The MIR Space Station ended its orbit around Earth on March 23, 2001. It orbited Earth from 1986 to 2001- the longest lasting space station. This project involved both Soviet Union (Russia) and the United States.

  • Mars Rover

    The Mars Rover process started in 2004 and its intention was to land on Mars to observe. By 2008, it was mosly developed. It landed on August 6, 2012. (I am not sure if this information is actually relevant)

  • Cassini Equinox Mission (in Orbit)

    The Cassini spacecraft landed in orbit with the ring of Saturn.