From Sputnik to the Stars: A Timeline of Human Space Travel and Exploration

In less than 70 years, humanity has gone from sending a beeping metal sphere into orbit to landing robots on other worlds, operating laboratories in space and building telescopes capable of observing galaxies formed near the beginning of the universe.

Some spacecraft have carried people. Others have travelled alone as satellites, landers, rovers and probes—our mechanical explorers sent into places that remain far beyond human reach.

This timeline follows some of the greatest milestones in space exploration, from the beginning of the Space Age to the missions helping us understand the universe today.

Before the Space Age

For most of history, space travel belonged entirely to mythology and imagination.

Astronomers could observe the Moon, planets and stars through increasingly powerful telescopes, but leaving Earth remained impossible. That began to change during the early 20th century as scientists and engineers developed the principles behind modern rocketry.

During the 1940s and 1950s, advances in rocket technology made it possible to reach the upper atmosphere. The next challenge was to travel fast enough to enter orbit—and remain there.

1957: Sputnik 1 Begins the Space Age

On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial satellite.

Sputnik was a polished metal sphere approximately 58 centimetres wide, fitted with four long antennae. It transmitted a simple radio signal as it circled Earth, producing a distinctive series of beeps that could be detected by radio operators around the world.

Although the satellite was small and operated for only a few weeks, its impact was enormous. Sputnik proved that an artificial object could be placed into orbit and marked the beginning of the Space Age.

Today, thousands of satellites support communications, navigation, weather forecasting, scientific research and observation of our changing planet.

1957: Laika Becomes the First Animal to Orbit Earth

Only one month after Sputnik 1, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 carrying a dog named Laika.

Laika became the first living creature to orbit Earth. Unfortunately, the spacecraft was not designed to return her safely, and she died during the mission.

Her flight provided early information about how a living body might react to launch and weightlessness, but it also remains a reminder of the ethical cost of some early experiments.

Animals including dogs, monkeys, mice, insects and tortoises contributed to research before scientists fully understood whether humans could survive in space.

1958: Explorer 1 Discovers the Van Allen Belts

On 31 January 1958, the United States successfully launched its first satellite, Explorer 1.

Its instruments detected regions of charged particles trapped by Earth’s magnetic field. These areas became known as the Van Allen radiation belts, after physicist James Van Allen.

Explorer 1 demonstrated that satellites could do much more than circle Earth—they could become scientific observatories capable of discovering things that were difficult or impossible to measure from the ground.

1959: The First Spacecraft Reach the Moon

The Moon became the first destination beyond Earth to be visited by robotic spacecraft.

In 1959, the Soviet Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravity and enter orbit around the Sun after missing its intended lunar target.

Later that year:

• Luna 2 became the first human-made object to reach the Moon

• Luna 3 photographed the far side of the Moon for the first time

Before Luna 3, nobody had seen the lunar hemisphere that permanently faces away from Earth. Its photographs were unclear by modern standards, but they revealed an entirely new landscape.

1961: Yuri Gagarin Becomes the First Human in Space

On 12 April 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into space.

His Vostok 1 spacecraft completed one orbit of Earth in approximately 108 minutes. Gagarin had crossed a boundary that had existed throughout the whole of human history: for the first time, a person had left Earth and seen our planet from space.

Vostok 1 was largely controlled automatically. Gagarin ejected from the capsule during its descent and landed separately by parachute.

His famous flight is now commemorated each year on 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight.

1961–1963: More Human Firsts

Just weeks after Gagarin’s flight, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. His Mercury spacecraft completed a short suborbital flight on 5 May 1961.

In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, completing three orbits aboard Friendship 7.

On 16 June 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She completed 48 orbits during a mission lasting almost three days.

Tereshkova remained the only woman to have flown in space until Svetlana Savitskaya’s mission in 1982.

1962: Mariner 2 Reaches Venus

NASA’s Mariner 2 became the first successful mission to another planet when it flew past Venus in December 1962.

The probe found that Venus had an extremely hot surface, helping to overturn earlier ideas that it might possess a warm, humid and potentially Earth-like environment.

Later Soviet Venera probes would go much further, entering the atmosphere and successfully landing on the planet’s hostile surface.

Discover more about this remarkable world in our Planet Profile of Venus.

1965: The First Spacewalk

On 18 March 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to leave a spacecraft while in orbit.

Leonov floated outside Voskhod 2 for around 12 minutes, connected to the spacecraft by a tether. His spacesuit expanded in the vacuum, making it extremely difficult for him to re-enter the airlock. He eventually reduced the pressure inside the suit and squeezed back inside.

The first American spacewalk followed in June 1965 when Ed White left the Gemini 4 spacecraft.

Spacewalks later became essential for constructing and maintaining space stations, repairing satellites and servicing the Hubble Space Telescope.

1966: The First Successful Soft Landing on the Moon

The Soviet Luna 9 mission completed the first controlled landing on the Moon in February 1966.

Before this mission, scientists were not completely certain that a spacecraft would remain on the lunar surface. Some feared that the Moon might be covered in such deep dust that a lander could sink.

Luna 9 returned panoramic photographs showing that the surface was solid enough to support a spacecraft—and, potentially, human explorers.

1968: Humans Travel Around the Moon

NASA’s Apollo 8 carried Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders around the Moon in December 1968.

They became the first humans to:

• Leave low-Earth orbit

• Travel to another world

• See the far side of the Moon directly

• Watch Earth rise above the lunar horizon

During the mission, William Anders captured the famous Earthrise photograph. The image presented Earth as a small, colourful and fragile world suspended in darkness.

1969: Humans Walk on the Moon

On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the Apollo command module.

Armstrong became the first human to step onto another world. Aldrin joined him shortly afterwards, and the two astronauts spent approximately two and a half hours exploring the surface outside the lunar module.

Apollo 11 returned rock samples, deployed scientific experiments and fulfilled a goal that had appeared almost impossible only a decade earlier.

Five more Apollo missions successfully landed astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. In total, 12 people walked on the lunar surface.

Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan became the most recent person to walk on the Moon in December 1972.

1970: The First Robotic Moon Rover

The Soviet Union’s Lunokhod 1 became the first remotely controlled rover to operate on another world.

Delivered to the Moon by Luna 17, the eight-wheeled rover travelled across the surface while being controlled by a team on Earth. It returned images, studied the lunar soil and demonstrated the value of mobile robotic exploration.

Its success helped establish the basic idea behind the Mars rovers that would follow decades later.

1971: The First Space Station

The Soviet Union launched Salyut 1, the world’s first space station, in April 1971.

Unlike a capsule intended for a relatively short flight, a space station allowed astronauts to live and work in orbit for extended periods.

The first crew sent to Salyut 1 was unable to dock successfully. A later crew spent 23 days aboard the station, but all three cosmonauts tragically died when their Soyuz spacecraft depressurised during the return to Earth.

Despite these setbacks, the Salyut programme provided valuable experience that contributed to later stations including Mir and the International Space Station.

1971–1973: Mars Comes Into Focus

The Soviet Mars 3 lander achieved the first soft landing on Mars in December 1971, although it stopped transmitting shortly after reaching the surface.

NASA’s Mariner 9, meanwhile, became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. Once a global dust storm cleared, it mapped enormous volcanoes, canyons and dried channels across Mars.

The observations showed that Mars was not simply a cratered, Moon-like desert. It was a geologically complex world with evidence of a dramatic past.

1972–1973: Pioneer Heads Towards the Outer Solar System

Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and visit Jupiter, completing its closest approach in December 1973.

Pioneer 11 followed, visiting Jupiter in 1974 and Saturn in 1979.

Both probes carried plaques showing a human figure and information about the spacecraft’s origin. These were intended as messages from humanity in the unlikely event that the probes were ever discovered by an intelligent civilisation.

1975: The Apollo–Soyuz Handshake

In July 1975, an American Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz capsule in orbit.

The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project brought together astronauts and cosmonauts from the two rival space powers. Crews passed between the spacecraft, conducted experiments and shared a symbolic handshake in space.

The mission demonstrated that spacecraft built by different countries could work together. It also became an important early step towards the international cooperation seen aboard the International Space Station.

1976: Viking Lands Successfully on Mars

NASA’s Viking 1 and Viking 2 missions each included an orbiter and lander.

Viking 1 completed the first fully successful landing on Mars in July 1976 and transmitted detailed images of the surface. Viking 2 landed several weeks later.

The landers analysed Martian soil and searched for possible signs of microbial activity. Their biology experiments produced intriguing but inconclusive results, and no confirmed evidence of life was found.

They transformed Mars from a distant point of light into a landscape that could be studied almost as if scientists were standing there.

1977: The Voyager Missions Begin Their Grand Tour

NASA launched Voyager 2 on 20 August 1977, followed by Voyager 1 on 5 September.

The planets were arranged in a rare alignment that allowed the spacecraft to use gravity assists to travel between the outer worlds.

Together, the Voyager probes revolutionised our understanding of the Solar System:

• Voyager 1 visited Jupiter and Saturn

• Voyager 2 visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

• Active volcanoes were discovered on Jupiter’s moon Io

• Europa was revealed to have a fractured, icy surface

• New moons and rings were found around the giant planets

• Neptune’s powerful storms were observed at close range

Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune.

Both probes carried a Golden Record containing sounds, music, greetings and images representing life on Earth. They have since crossed the heliopause and entered interstellar space, although they remain influenced by the Sun’s gravity.

1981: The Space Shuttle Era Begins

On 12 April 1981—exactly 20 years after Gagarin’s flight—NASA launched Columbia on the first Space Shuttle mission.

The Space Shuttle was designed as a partly reusable spacecraft. Its winged orbiter launched like a rocket, operated in space and returned to land on a runway.

Across 135 missions, the five operational shuttles:

• Launched and repaired satellites

• Carried scientific laboratories

• Deployed major observatories

• Helped construct the International Space Station

• Carried astronauts from many countries

The programme also suffered two devastating accidents. Challenger was lost during launch in 1986, and Columbia was lost during re-entry in 2003. Fourteen astronauts died in these disasters.

The final Space Shuttle mission was completed by Atlantis in July 2011.

1986: Mir Creates a Permanent Home in Orbit

The first module of the Soviet Mir space station launched in February 1986.

Mir was assembled gradually in orbit and became the first modular space station. It supported long-duration missions and hosted visitors from numerous countries.

Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov spent nearly 438 continuous days aboard Mir, helping scientists study how extremely long periods in weightlessness affect the human body.

During the 1990s, American Space Shuttles docked with Mir as part of a cooperative programme that helped prepare both nations for the International Space Station.

1990: The Hubble Space Telescope Opens a New Window

The Hubble Space Telescope launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in April 1990.

Positioned above most of Earth’s atmosphere, Hubble could observe the universe without the blurring and distortion experienced by ground-based telescopes.

Its early images were unexpectedly unclear because of a tiny error in the shape of its primary mirror. Astronauts installed corrective equipment during a servicing mission in 1993, effectively giving Hubble the sharp vision it was intended to have.

Hubble has since helped astronomers measure the expansion of the universe, study black holes, examine the atmospheres of exoplanets and create some of the most recognisable astronomical images ever produced.

1995: Galileo Reaches Jupiter

NASA’s Galileo spacecraft became the first probe to orbit Jupiter in December 1995.

Galileo studied the planet and its moons for almost eight years. It found strong evidence that Jupiter’s icy moon Europa hides a saltwater ocean beneath its surface.

The mission also released a probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere. It survived for less than an hour while measuring the planet’s temperature, pressure, winds and chemical composition.

1997: A Rover Drives Across Mars

NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission delivered a small rover named Sojourner to the Martian surface.

Roughly the size of a microwave oven, Sojourner became the first rover to operate on another planet. It explored close to its lander, examining rocks and testing technologies for more capable vehicles.

The mission showed that relatively low-cost spacecraft could complete ambitious planetary exploration and helped inspire a new generation of Mars rovers.

1998: Construction of the International Space Station Begins

The first component of the International Space Station, the Russian-built Zarya module, launched in November 1998.

The ISS was assembled over many years through cooperation involving the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. Since November 2000, it has been continuously occupied by rotating international crews.

Astronauts aboard the station conduct experiments covering:

• Human health in weightlessness

• Biology and medicine

• Materials and manufacturing

• Earth observation

• Physics

• Technologies for future space missions

The ISS orbits approximately 400 kilometres above Earth and travels at around 28,000 kilometres per hour, completing one orbit roughly every 90 minutes.

Unlike the distant James Webb Space Telescope, the ISS can often be seen from the UK as a bright point moving steadily across the sky. Read our guide to observing the International Space Station for tips on spotting it.

2000: A New Era of Continuous Human Presence

On 2 November 2000, Expedition 1 arrived at the International Space Station.

From that date onwards, humans have maintained a continuous presence in space. Thousands of experiments have been completed aboard the station, while astronauts have learned how to live and work away from Earth for months at a time.

The ISS has also become a powerful symbol of what can be achieved when countries cooperate on an enormous scientific project.

2004: Spirit and Opportunity Explore Mars

NASA’s twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on opposite sides of Mars in January 2004.

Both were designed to operate for only 90 Martian days, but they lasted far longer:

• Spirit continued working until 2010

• Opportunity remained active until 2018

Opportunity travelled more than 45 kilometres, setting a record for off-Earth driving at the time. The rovers found compelling geological evidence that liquid water had once existed on the Martian surface.

2005: Huygens Lands on Titan

The European Space Agency’s Huygens probe separated from the Cassini spacecraft and descended through the atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in January 2005.

It became the first spacecraft to land in the outer Solar System and the first to touch down on a moon other than our own.

Huygens photographed branching channels and rounded pieces of water ice. Data from the Cassini–Huygens mission later showed that Titan has rivers, lakes, rain and seas—but they are composed largely of liquid methane and ethane rather than water.

2006–2015: New Horizons Reaches Pluto

NASA launched New Horizons in January 2006.

After travelling for more than nine years, the probe flew past Pluto on 14 July 2015. Before its arrival, even the best images showed Pluto as little more than a blurred disc.

New Horizons revealed a complex world with towering water-ice mountains, flowing nitrogen ice and a vast heart-shaped region now known as Tombaugh Regio.

In 2019, it continued deeper into the Kuiper Belt and flew past Arrokoth, the most distant object ever closely investigated by a spacecraft.

2012: Curiosity Lands on Mars

NASA’s car-sized Curiosity rover reached Mars in August 2012 using a spectacular landing system known as the sky crane.

Curiosity was designed to investigate whether Mars had ever provided conditions suitable for microbial life. It found evidence that Gale Crater once contained long-lasting lakes with the chemical ingredients necessary for potentially habitable environments.

The rover is not equipped to detect life directly. Instead, it studies Mars’s geology, atmosphere and environmental history.

Learn more about the planet in our Mars observing guide.

2014: Humanity Lands on a Comet

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft became the first to orbit a comet.

In November 2014, it released the Philae lander towards Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Philae’s anchoring systems did not work as planned, causing it to bounce before settling in a poorly illuminated location.

Despite the difficult landing, Philae returned valuable information. Rosetta continued studying the comet as it travelled around the Sun, revealing how solar heating transformed its surface and produced streams of gas and dust.

The mission helped scientists investigate material left over from the formation of the Solar System.

2015–2016: Reusable Rockets Begin to Land

For most of the Space Age, major rocket stages were discarded after a single flight.

During the mid-2010s, companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin demonstrated controlled landings of reusable rocket boosters. In December 2015, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage successfully returned to a landing site after launching satellites into orbit.

Reusable rockets did not make spaceflight easy, but they began reducing the need to build an entirely new launch vehicle for every mission.

This helped support more frequent launches, commercial missions and new approaches to human spaceflight.

2016: Juno Arrives at Jupiter

NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in July 2016.

Its unusual orbit carries it close above Jupiter’s cloud tops before sweeping far away again. Juno has studied the planet’s gravity, magnetic field, atmosphere and internal structure.

Its images revealed enormous polar cyclones, swirling clouds and atmospheric details unlike anything previously seen.

Explore Jupiter from closer to home with our Planet Profile of Jupiter.

2019: The First Image of a Black Hole

Black holes cannot be photographed directly because light cannot escape from inside their event horizons. However, the hot material surrounding them can shine extremely brightly.

In April 2019, the international Event Horizon Telescope collaboration released the first image of a black hole’s shadow.

The target was the supermassive black hole at the centre of galaxy Messier 87, approximately 55 million light-years away. The project combined radio telescopes across Earth so that they worked together like a single planet-sized observatory.

A second image, showing the black hole at the centre of our Milky Way, followed in 2022.

2020: Astronauts Launch From the United States Again

In May 2020, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken travelled to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

The Demo-2 mission was the first crewed orbital launch from the United States since the final Space Shuttle flight in 2011. It was also the first time a commercially built and operated spacecraft carried people into orbit.

Regular Crew Dragon missions have since transported international crews to and from the ISS.

2020: Samples Return From an Asteroid

Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission returned samples from asteroid Ryugu to Earth in December 2020.

The spacecraft had spent more than a year studying the asteroid, deploying small surface vehicles and collecting material.

The samples contain primitive material preserved from the Solar System’s early history. Studying them in laboratories on Earth helps scientists investigate how planets formed and how substances important for life may have reached the young Earth.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned a separate sample from asteroid Bennu in September 2023.

2021: China Begins Building Tiangong

China launched Tianhe, the core module of its Tiangong space station, in April 2021.

Additional laboratory modules followed in 2022, creating a permanently crewed orbital station. Chinese astronauts—known as taikonauts—use Tiangong for scientific experiments, technology demonstrations and long-duration missions.

Its construction made China one of the few nations to independently design, launch and operate a crewed space station.

2021: Perseverance and Ingenuity Reach Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Jezero Crater in February 2021.

Its goals include searching for signs of ancient microbial environments, studying Martian geology and collecting carefully sealed rock samples that could potentially be returned to Earth by a future mission.

Perseverance also carried Ingenuity, a small experimental helicopter. In April 2021, Ingenuity completed the first powered, controlled flight on another world.

Originally intended to attempt only a few flights, it eventually completed 72 before its mission ended in 2024. Its success demonstrated that future flying vehicles could explore cliffs, caves and other terrain difficult for rovers to reach.

2021–2022: The James Webb Space Telescope Opens Its Golden Eye

The James Webb Space Telescope launched on Christmas Day 2021 and began science operations in 2022.

Webb observes mainly in infrared light, allowing it to peer through cosmic dust, study exoplanet atmospheres and detect extremely distant galaxies.

Its 6.5-metre segmented mirror and enormous sunshield had to fold inside the launch vehicle before carefully unfolding in space.

Webb operates approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth around the Sun–Earth L2 region. It is already changing our understanding of star formation, planetary systems and the early universe.

Read our complete guide to the James Webb Space Telescope to discover how its golden mirror and infrared instruments work.

2022: Artemis I Travels Around the Moon

NASA’s uncrewed Artemis I mission launched in November 2022.

The Orion spacecraft travelled beyond the Moon before returning safely to Earth. The mission tested the Space Launch System rocket, Orion capsule and systems intended for future crewed lunar flights.

The wider Artemis programme aims to return astronauts to the Moon, develop experience with longer missions and prepare technologies that could eventually support human journeys to Mars.

2023: India Lands Near the Lunar South Pole

India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully landed on the Moon in August 2023.

India became the fourth country to complete a soft lunar landing, following the Soviet Union, United States and China. It was also the first successful landing in the Moon’s southern polar region.

The Vikram lander and Pragyan rover studied the local surface and measured its temperature and composition.

The lunar south pole is especially interesting because permanently shadowed craters may preserve deposits of water ice. This resource could become scientifically valuable and potentially useful during future human exploration.

2024: New Missions Head for the Moon and Jupiter

Japan’s SLIM spacecraft completed a highly accurate lunar landing in January 2024. Its successful precision landing demonstrated technology that could allow future missions to reach specific scientific targets rather than simply aiming for a broad landing zone.

In June 2024, China’s Chang’e 6 returned the first samples ever collected from the far side of the Moon.

NASA’s Europa Clipper launched in October 2024 and began its long journey towards Jupiter. The probe is designed to investigate Europa’s icy shell, underground ocean and potential habitability. It is expected to reach Jupiter in 2030.

The European Space Agency’s JUICE spacecraft is also travelling towards the Jupiter system. Its primary target is Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System and a world thought to contain a deep ocean beneath its icy surface.

Space Exploration Today

Modern space exploration is no longer carried out by just two competing superpowers.

Government agencies, universities and private companies now operate satellites, telescopes, crewed spacecraft and planetary missions. NASA, ESA, the UK Space Agency, China’s CNSA, India’s ISRO, Japan’s JAXA and many other organisations contribute to our understanding of Earth and space.

Human crews continue to live in orbit, while robotic explorers investigate Mars, the Moon, asteroids, the Sun and the outer planets.

Spacecraft are also travelling towards destinations they will not reach for years. Their journeys remind us of the enormous scale of the Solar System: even our fastest machines require months or years to travel between worlds.

Why Do We Send Robots Before People?

Robotic spacecraft can survive journeys and environments that would be extraordinarily dangerous for humans.

A probe does not require food, oxygen or protection from the psychological effects of isolation. It can enter Jupiter’s intense radiation fields, endure the freezing darkness beyond Neptune or approach the extreme heat of the Sun.

Robotic missions are also usually much less expensive than human missions. They allow scientists to examine a destination, identify hazards and test technology before placing people at risk.

Humans, however, remain remarkably capable explorers. Astronauts can respond to unexpected situations, select interesting samples and complete complex tasks much faster than a remotely operated robot.

Future exploration is therefore likely to combine both approaches: robotic spacecraft travelling ahead, followed by people when the destination and technology allow it.

Satellites: The Spacecraft We Use Every Day

Not every important spacecraft travels to another planet.

Artificial satellites have become an essential part of life on Earth. They support:

• Television, telephone and internet communications

• GPS and other navigation services

• Weather forecasting

• Climate and environmental monitoring

• Emergency and disaster response

• Scientific observations

• Search and rescue operations

Astronomical satellites also observe wavelengths that Earth’s atmosphere blocks or distorts, including ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays.

From weather maps to navigation instructions, many services we use every day depend upon technology orbiting hundreds or thousands of kilometres above us.

What Comes Next?

Future missions are expected to explore some of the most fascinating locations in the Solar System.

Scientists want to investigate water ice near the Moon’s poles, search for signs of past life on Mars and study the hidden oceans of icy moons such as Europa.

New space telescopes will examine distant galaxies, exoplanets and the mysterious dark universe. Robotic spacecraft may bring additional samples back from Mars, the Moon, asteroids and comets.

Human explorers are preparing to travel beyond low-Earth orbit once again. Returning astronauts to the Moon would provide experience in living farther from Earth and could help prepare for the much greater challenge of sending people to Mars.

Schedules can change, missions can be redesigned and setbacks are inevitable. Space exploration has never followed a perfectly smooth path—but every success and failure adds to what we know.

Explore Space Missions for Yourself

You can follow current missions and explore their discoveries through these official resources:

• NASA Missions – Explore NASA’s active and historic spacecraft, observatories and human spaceflight programmes.

• NASA Solar System Exploration – Discover the planets, moons, asteroids, comets and missions exploring our cosmic neighbourhood.

• European Space Agency Missions – Follow ESA’s planetary, astronomical, Earth-observation and human-spaceflight missions.

• UK Space Agency – Learn about the United Kingdom’s contribution to space science, technology and exploration.

• JAXA – Explore Japan’s work in human spaceflight, astronomy and planetary science.

• Indian Space Research Organisation – Follow India’s satellite, lunar, solar and planetary missions.

• Canadian Space Agency – Learn about Canadian astronauts, satellites, robotics and contributions to international missions.

• NASA Eyes – Use interactive visualisations to follow spacecraft and explore the Solar System.

A Journey That Has Only Just Begun

Sputnik’s first radio signal was heard in 1957. Only 12 years later, people were walking on the Moon.

Since then, our spacecraft have photographed every planet in the Solar System, landed on moons, asteroids and a comet, flown through the Sun’s atmosphere and entered interstellar space.

Yet we have explored only a tiny fraction of what lies beyond Earth.

Many of the worlds visited by these missions can also be seen from your own garden. The Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all within reach of amateur observers, while dark skies can reveal star clusters, nebulae and distant galaxies.

Begin with our guide to what you can see with a telescope, or explore our selection of telescopes and astronomy binoculars.

Every spacecraft in this timeline began with the same simple act: someone looked upwards and wondered what was out there.