Space exploration

By Joe Readman

First man on the moon in 1969

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•04 Oct 1957: Sputnik satellite blasts into space

•03 Nov 1957: Russians launch dog into space

•13 Dec 1958: Monkey lost after space flight

•28 May 1959: Monkeys survive space mission

•12 Sep 1959: Soviets launch rocket at the Moon

•26 Oct 1959: World glimpses far side of the Moon

•14 Mar 1960: Radio telescope makes space history

•31 Jan 1961: Chimp returns safely after space flight

•12 Apr 1961: Soviets win space race

•05 May 1961: Shepard becomes first US astronaut

•25 May 1961: Kennedy pledges man on Moon

•06 Aug 1961: Russian cosmonaut spends day in space

•20 Feb 1962: US spaceman orbits Earth

•26 Apr 1962: First US rocket lands on Moon

Space time line

• 14 Dec 1962: 'Music of spheres' hails Venus fly-by

• 16 Jun 1963: Soviets launch first woman into space

• 24 Mar 1965: Millions watch space probe crash into Moon

• 29 Aug 1965: Gemini V returns to Earth

• 03 Feb 1966: Soviets land probe on Moon

• 02 Jun 1966: First US space probe lands on Moon

• 27 Jan 1967: Three astronauts die in Apollo 1 tragedy

• 24 Apr 1967: Russian cosmonaut dies in space crash

• 05 May 1967: First all-British satellite 'Ariel 3' launched

• 18 Oct 1967: Soviets glimpse beneath clouds of Venus

• 19 Oct 1967: US probe flies by hot and windy Venus

• 24 Dec 1968: First astronauts orbit Moon

• 22 May 1969: Apollo 10 gets bird's eye view of Moon

• 16 Jul 1969: Apollo 11 takes off for the Moon

• 19 Nov 1969: Second Apollo mission lands on Moon

• 14 Apr 1970: Critical explosion cripples Apollo 13

• 20 Sep 1970: Soviet probe collects moon rock

• 06 Feb 1971: Man plays golf on the Moon

• 30 Jun 1971: Space mission ends in tragedy

• 01 Aug 1971: Apollo 15 finds rock from birth of Moon

• 13 Nov 1971: American probe orbits Mars

• 20 Apr 1972: Apollo 16 safely on Moon after engine crisis

• 14 Dec 1972: Last Moon mission returns

• 08 Feb 1974: Americans end outer space marathon

• 20 Jul 1976: Pictures of Mars from Viking ship

• 11 Jul 1979: Skylab tumbles back to Earth

• 24 Dec 1979: Europe launches first rocket

• 12 Nov 1980: Saturn's rings caught on film

• 24 Jun 1983: US astronaut Sally Ride returns

• 20 Feb 1986: Soviets launch space station Mir

• 29 Sep 1988: Shuttle blasts US back into space

• 25 Aug 1989: Voyager spacecraft reaches Neptune

• 24 Apr 1990: Hubble telescope takes off for space

• 10 Aug 1990: Magellan starts mapping Venus

• 18 May 1991: Sharman becomes first Briton in space

• 09 Feb 1995: Space pioneers take first small steps

• 29 Jun 1995: US shuttle docks with Russian space station

• 06 Apr 1997: Fault cuts short space shuttle mission

• 06 Jul 1997: Mars buggy starts exploring Red Planet

• 07 Nov 1998: Oldest astronaut back on Earth

• 28 Apr 2001: First space tourist blasts off

• 01 Feb 2003: Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven

• 15 Oct 2003: China sends first man into space

• 25 Dec 2003: Mars space probe disappears

• 25 Jan 2004: Nasa rover looks for water on Mars 

Famous explorers

Quick Facts

date of birth: March 9,1934

date of death: March 27,1968

 missions: Vostok 1(Apirl 12,1961)

Quick FactsDate of Birth: November

18,1923

Mission: Mercury 3(May 5,1961), Apollo 14 (January 31-February 9, 1971)

Quick FactsDate of Birth: July 18,1921

Missions: Mercury 6 (February 20,1962) STS-95 (October 29,1998- November 7, 1998) 

Yuri Gagain Alan Shepherd John Glenn

Quick Facts

Date of Birth: March 1,1924

Missions: ASTP (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) (July 15-24, 1975)

Quick FactsDate of

Birth:August 5,

1930

Missions: Apollo 11 (July 20,1969)

Records: First to step foot on the moon.

Quick FactsDate of Birth: Jan. 30, 1930

Missions: Apollo 11(July 16-24,1969), Gemini 12(November 11-15, 1966)

Donald Slayton Neil Armstrong Buzz Aldrin

Quick FactsDate of Birth: May 26, 1951

Missions: STS-7(June 18-24, 1983) 41-G (October 5-13, 1984)

Quick FactsDate of birth: March 15,1932

Missions: Apollo 12 (November 14, 1969-November 24, 1969), Skylab3 (July 28,1973 -September 23)

Quick FactsDate of Birth: September 2, 1948

Date of Death: January 28, 1986

Missions: Shuttle mission 51-L aboard the Challenger (January 28, 1986)

Sally Ride

Alan Bean

Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe was the first teacher in space.

Quick FactsDate of

Birth:April 3, 1967

Date of Death:

January 27, 1967

Missions: Liberty Bell 7 (July 21, 1961) Gemini 3 (March 23, 1965

Quick FactsDate of Birth: September 24, 1930

Missions: Gemini 3 (March 23, 1965) Gemini 10 ( July 18-21, 1966) Apollo 10 (May 18-26, 1969) Apollo 16 (April 16-27, 1972) STS-1 (April 12-14, 1981) STS-9 (November 28-December 8,1983)

Quick FactsDate of Birth: August 19, 1935

missions: STS-6 (April 4-9, 1983) 51-F (July 19-August 6, 1985 

Gus Grissom John Young

Story Musgrave

Quick FactsDate of Birth: March 25, 1928

Missions: Apollo 8 (December 21-27, 1968) Apollo 13 (April 11-17, 1970) Gemini 7 ( December 4-18, 1965) Gemini 12 (November 11-15, 1966)

James Lovell

Helen Sharman

Valentina Tereshkova

First Man and Woman to land on the moon

Neil ArmstrongValentina Tereshkova

How a apace shuttle takes off

A space shuttle goes about 17,500 mph to keep its self flying.

The 11 planets

Videos

What it would be like to have no gravity

John Young falling over finding a lost sample bag

Many thanks to YouTube