1. Space Exploration Timeline

2. 1942
The V2 was the first rocket to reach the boundaries of space at 100km.
The rocket was designed by Wernher Von Braun, who later worked with NASA as the creator of the rockets that went to the moon.
1947
First animals were launched into space. Scientists chose fruit flies and sent them with corn to eat for their trip.

3. 1947
First animals were launched into space. Scientists chose fruit flies and sent them with corn to eat for their trip.
Fruit flies were sent due to their genetic similarities to humans.

4. 1949
Albert was the first monkey in space. He flew in a specially adapted rocket to 83 miles from the Earth.

5. 1957 Russia launched the first satellite into space: Sputnik 1
Sputnik means “Satelite” in Russian.
Today there are over 500 working satellites in space.
Russian space dog Laika was the first animal to orbit the earth in Sputnik 2. Today there are over 500 satellites!
The Russian space dog Laika became the first animal to orbit the earth in the Sputnik 2. Her mission help scientist understand whether people could survive in space.

6. 1959
“Space race” begins. American and Russian scientists raced to get a spacecraft to the moon. Russians won!
Their second space craft the Luna 2 crashed into the moon so hard it would have killed a human.

7. 1961
Russian Yuri Gagarin became first man in space. Orbited for 2 hours and had to eject from craft because Vostok 1 was not designed to land properly.
Gagarin had to bail out and land using his parachute, because the Vostok 1 was designed to crash land!

8. 1963
Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space. She has a crater on the moon named after her!
After her mission she became an important member of the Russian Government.

9. 1966
President Kennedy Promised US landing on the moon before Sent a probe to the moon for landing as one last test before sending a human. Called the Surveyor 1!
Once the surveyor 1 landed, it began relaying picture messages of the landscape of the moon so scientists could find a good landing spot.

10. 1969
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took "one small step" and became the first men on the moon. Their spaceship, Apollo 11 worked perfectly, flying them 250,000 miles to the moon, and bringing them all the way back safely to earth.
Buzz’s real name was Edwin
Their first words on the moon were “The Eagle has landed”

11. 1970
Two days into its journey, Apollo 13, suffered an explosion due to wiring. Using only whatever was on board, NASA scientists and the astronauts on board improvised repairs to bring the crippled spaceship home. All astronauts on board successfully returned home on their failed ship.

12. 1971
American astronauts on the fourth, fifth and sixth Apollo missions enjoyed use of a moon car to explore the moon. Known as the Lunar Rover, it was electric powered, and had a top speed of 8mph. It was designed by Boeing
1973
Russian space probe Mars 2 explored Mars. One part stayed in orbit for a year, sending pictures of Mars back to earth. The other was to land and explore the surface of Mars, but it was destroyed when its parachute failed to open.

13. 1981
Until this point Spacecraft were designed to be used only once. The Space Shuttle was designed to be reused for up to 100 visits to space, in an attempt to make space travel less expensive.
17,000mph. 6 made
1986
Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch, because of a fuel system failure. All seven astronauts on board were killed, and all shuttles were grounded for nearly three years.

14. 1986
The MIR space station was built in sections, each piece launched by a rocket and then joined together in orbit. Construction started in 1986, with the last piece being fitted ten years later! MIR means peace
1989
Helen Sharman competed to become the first British astronaut in space. She was part of a Russian mission to the MIR space station.

15. 2000
The first permanent crew moved into the International Space Station (ISS), where crews of astronauts have been living ever since. It wasn’t finished until 2010.
ISS facts

16. 2001
American millionaire Dennis Tito became the first space tourist when he paid around 20 million dollars for a ride in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Trained for 900 hours!
2003
Tragedy once again struck when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentering the atmosphere killing all 7 members. Flights were suspended for two years after this accident.

17. 2004
Space Ship One made the first privately funded manned flight. A new Airline, Virgin Galactic has been set up to offer private tourist flights into space, using a new version of this space plane.

18. 20?? What’s planned for the future of space exploration?
US President George Bush announced that NASA would resume missions to the moon by 2020, and work on a permanent moon-base would begin.