Space exploration events

October 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth.

November 3, 1957: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2, carrying the first living creature into space, a dog named Laika.

April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union becomes the first human in space

July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin of the United States become the first humans to walk on the Moon

December 14, 1972: Eugene Cernan becomes the last human to walk on the Moon

July 3, 1976: The Viking 1 lander becomes the first spacecraft to land on Mars and return images and data from the planet.

February 18, 1986: The Soviet Union launches Mir, a space station that was inhabited by astronauts for over 10 years.

April 24, 1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched, providing astronomers with unprecedented views of the universe.

November 20, 1998: The International Space Station (ISS) is launched, becoming a permanent human presence in space.

January 3, 2004: NASA's Opportunity rover lands on Mars and begins a 15-year mission to explore the planet.

May 4, 2011: NASA's Curiosity rover lands on Mars, beginning a mission to study the planet's habitability and search for signs of ancient life.

February 6, 2019: SpaceX launches the Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful rocket in operation at the time.

November 13, 2020: SpaceX launches Crew Dragon, the first commercial spacecraft to carry astronauts to the ISS

December 22, 2021: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is launched, becoming the most powerful and sophisticated space telescope ever built.