Humans have been fixated with space since as far back as 1200BC and the creation of the Babylonian star catalogues. Astronomy itself is the oldest natural science and one that intrigues us to this day. Travel into space helps us understand the universe around us and could one day lead to new human outposts throughout the galaxy. Here’s a quick history of space travel so far and where it’s heading in the future.
Space
ALL ABOUT
SPACE
Germany sends first ballistic missile V-2 into space
1942
1957
Russia launches first artificial satellite Sputnik 1; Space Race between Soviet Union and USA begins
Russian Yuri Gagarin becomes first human to orbit Earth in Vostok 1; Alan Shepard becomes first American in space
1961
1969
USA’s Apollo 11 crew lands on the moon
First ‘Space Shuttle’ Columbia lifts off from Cape Canaveral
1981
1986
Russia launches MIR Space Station
First permanent crew sent to International Space Station (ISS)
2000
2001
Dennis Tito pays to visit ISS, making him the first ‘space tourist’
the future...
Humans on Mars?
DID YOU KNOW?
Your phone is smarter than NASA
Every year, your phones become twice as powerful (in terms of transistors) than
the year before, according to “Moore’s Law” (look it up). This means as each year passes, the increase in computing power becomes enormous. So the smartphone you’re possibly googling “Moore’s Law” on has more computing power in it than all of NASA when they put man on the moon back in 1969.
DID YOU KNOW?
The first woman in space was only 26
Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first and youngest woman to go into space in 1963. She is the only woman to have been on a solo space mission and orbited the Earth almost 50 times in three days on Vostok 6, her only space trip. She also passed through Prestwick Airport while on a UK visit in 1963!
