space ships

first American in space

May 5, 1961

The first American in space aboard the craft Mercury 3, on 5 May 1961.

First Space Walk

Mar 18, 1965

Alexei Leonov first person to take a space walk.

first spacecraft pictures of Mars

Aug 14, 1965

The first photograph ever taken on the surface of the planet Mars. It was obtained by Viking 1

first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon

Feb 3, 1966

Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to achieve a lunar soft landing and to transmit photographic data from the Moon's surface to Earth.

First Death In Space

Apr 24, 1967

Vladimir Komarov was the first death during a space mission

first soft landing on Venus

Dec 15, 1970

Venera 7 was the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on Venus.

first spacecraft to orbit another planet

Nov 13, 1971

Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.

first spacecraft to land on a comet

Nov 12, 2014

Philae lander accomplished the first ever soft landing of a human-made spacecraft on the surface of a comet