-
First Animal Launched into Space: Dog Laika aboard Sputnik 2 (1957).
Sputnik 2 carried Laika (dog), who became the first living animal to be launched and to orbit earth. Laika was launched on November 3, 1957, and after the great success of the Laika the dog to orbit earth, other similar projects were later carried out on other animals. This was to test the condition if it was possible to support life in space. With supporting life in space, they also had to test out other varieties of critical components. -
The First Man in Space: Yuri Gagarin (1961)
The first man to ever fly in space was Yuri Gagarin on 12th April 1961. Gagarin achieved this inside a Vostok 1 capsule and orbited Earth for 108 minutes before returning safely. When thinking about this in depth, being the first man in space meant that Gagarin was the first person to ever leave the Earth. -
First Satellite to Operate in Geostationary Orbit: Syncom 2 (telecommunications satellite). (1963 - 1965)
Syncom 2 was launched to prove that geosynchronous satellites’ orbital speed can match the rotational speed of Earth and thus remaining stable over the same location whilst transmitting data. It is however noted by NASA that Syncom 2 was not truly geostationary as the orbit was inclined at 33 degrees and formed a figure eight path. Nevertheless, Syncom 2 proved the power and viability of geosynchronous satellite communications which enabled live transmission of the 1964 Olympic games in Japan. -
Circling of the Moon: Apollo 8 (1968)
On August 19, 1968 NASA directors gave the Apollo 8 crew their new mission. It was the first time that human beings orbited the moon. The Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) noticed that the sun was now at the center of solar system with the Earth and other planets revolving around it. -
First spacecraft to Orbit another Planet (Mars): Mariner 9 (1971)
The mariner 9 successfully completed the project by being the first space craft to orbit another planet (Mars). This was prior by another eight unsuccessful projects before to the Mariner 9. The mariner 9 captured detailed photos of plant Mars and orbited the planet capturing first glimpses of the outer planet. -
The First Mars Lander: Viking 1 (1976)
Viking 1 was the first ever spacecraft to land on another planet successfully. Viking landed on Mars and transmitted pictures of Martian (Mars) rocks for 2307 days (or approximately 6 years and 4 months). As Viking was a Lander, Viking was stationary throughout its life, however Viking’s success prompted NASA to send the famous rovers (allowing exploration) Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity. -
First Spacecraft to return to Earth with samples from an Asteroid (2003 - 2010)
Hayabusa mission was launched to bring back asteroid sample materials to Earth for research. The spacecraft encountered a series of technical difficulties but was successful in landing on a near-Earth asteroid called 25143 Itokawa and brought back asteroid dust samples. Studies on the samples discovered a presence of minerals which are common on Earth and present on Mars and the moon. Hayabusa inspired the launch of Hayabusa 2 in December 2014 which is due to land on Earth in December 2020 -
SMART 1 — 2003 – 2006: ESA's First Mission to the moon
SMART-1 was ESA’s first mission to the moon. The objective of the mission was to test new solar-electric propulsion and additional deep-space technologies as well as carrying out lunar investigations. The technology tests provided insight on solar-electric technology whereas the lunar investigations provided a “comprehensive inventory of chemical elements in the lunar surface” for study and investigated theories surrounding the formation of the moon. -
First Spacecraft to Land on the Moon of a Planet other than Earth (Saturn's moon Titan). Huygens probe of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. (2005).
Huygens was an atmospheric entry probe that landed successfully on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005. The probe was named after the Dutch 17th-century astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who discovered Titan in 1655. The Huygens probe successfully landed on Saturn's largest moon Titan at about 11:30 UTC on January 14, 2005. The descent lasted two hours and 27 minutes. The probe survived another 72 minutes on the surface of Titan. -
Kaguya (Selene) (2007-2009)
The Kaguya mission, also known as Selene, involved an explorer, consisting of a main satellite and two small satellites, obtaining data from the Moon of lunar origin and evolution, and to aid in developing technology for future possible exploration to the Moon. The Kaguya mission ended through a controlled impact onto the surface of the Moon. -
Dawn (2009). Stacking up “firsts” in Space Exploration
NASA faced budgetary problems and was forced to cancel three prior Dawn missions. Once NASA had the budget they launched Dawn, Dawn’s project outline was to orbit the Ceres, Ceres is the biggest object in the asteroid belt and Dawn was the first to orbit Ceres. It also orbited Vesta, which the second largest object in the asteroid belt. Dawn also is the first to orbit two major objects in one mission. -
First Spacecraft to orbit Mercury. (Messenger) (2011)
The U.S spacecraft that studied Mercury’s surface and environment. The space craft named messenger was launched on August 3, 2004 by a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The messenger discovered its radius which is much larger than previously thought and extended from the centre to about 86 percent of planets radius. Finally ,on March 18, 2011, Messenger became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury.
