A BRIEF HISTORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION
By Tim Lambert
The Beginning of Space ExplorationThe pioneer of space travel was a Russian, Konstantin Tsiolkowsky (1857-1935). He realised that only a rocket could provide propulsion in the near-vacuum of space. He also proposed that a rocket shuld be built in stages so it would dump each stage when its fuel was exhausted.
In 1926 Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) launched the first liquid propelled rocket. Then in Germany in 1930 Johannes Winkler (1897-1947) founded a Society for Space Travel, which experimented with rockets.
During World War II a German, Wernher von Braun (1912-1977) developed a rocket that was used as a weapon against the British. The V2 rose to over 100 km above the Earth's surface. After the war ended von Braun went to the USa and continued to experiment with rockets.
The 1950s
Yet it was the Russians who first launched an artificial satellite. Sputnik I was launched on 4 October 1957. On 3 November 1957 the Russians launched a dog called Laika into space in a satellite. She was the first living creature in space.
For centuries people dreamed of visiting the Moon. In 1634 a book by the astronomer Johannes Kepler called The Somnium was published. In it a man named Duracotus is transported to the Moon by spirits. Kepler correctly realised that a journey to the Moon would be very dangerous.
Many more stories about trips to the Moon appeared in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They include The Man in the Moon by Francis Godwin published in 1638 and History of the States and Empires of the Moon by Cyrano de Bergerac published in 1657. At trip to the Moon by Murtagh McDermot followed in 1728 and an American called George Tucker wrote A Voyage to the Moon in 1827. Alexandre Dumas wrote Trip to the Moon in 1860 and Jules Verne followed in 1865 with a book called From the Earth to the Moon. Then in 1901 H G Wells published The First Men in the Moon. However none of these stories foresaw using rockets to travel to the Moon.
In January 1959 the Russians launched the first space probe, Luna I. It flew within 5,000 miles of the Moon. Also in 1959 Luna 2 crashed onto the Moon. In October 1959 Luna 3 took the first photos of the Dark side of the Moon.
America's first artificial satellite was Explorer 1, which was launched in January 1958.
The 1960s
The first human being in space was a Russian, Yuri Gagarin who was launched on 12 April 1961. He made a single orbit of the Earth and landed the same day.
The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova, who orbited the Earth 48 times between 16 and 19 June 1963.
The first space walk was by Aleksi Leonov on 18 March 1965.
Meanwhile the first probe to reach another planet was Mariner 2, which was launched by the Americans in August 1962. In December 1962 it flew within 22,000 miles of Venus.
In 1964 the Americans launched Mariner 4. In July 1965 it flew past Mars. Then in February 1966 the Russian probe Luna 9 landed on the Moon.
Meanwhile in 1961 President Kennedy proposed to land a man on the Moon 'before the decade is out'. The first step was Apollo 8, which was launched on 21 December 1968 carrying 3 astronauts. The spacecraft orbited the Moon 10 times and returned safely to Earth. Further preparations followed with Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 in 1969.
There were 3 astronauts on the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin and Michael Collins. The Apollo 11 mission was launched on 16 July 1969. It went into Lunar orbit on 19 July 1969. On 20 July the Lunar module, Eagle separated from the Command module, Columbia piloted by Collins. The Eagle landed on 21 July 1969 and Neil Armstrong became the first human being sto set foot on the Moon. The astronauts returned to Earth on 24 July 1969.
Apollo 12 landed in the Ocean of Storms in November 1969. Apollo 13 was launched in april 1970. However the mission was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded. The next mission to the Moon was Apollo 14 in February 1971. Apollo 15 followed it in July 1971, which carried a lunar roving vehicle. Apollo 16 landed on the Moon in April 1972 and finally Apollo 17 landed in December 1972.
The 1970s
In 1907 China launched its first satellite, Dong Fang Hong 1. Japan launched its first satellite Ohsumi.
In March 1974 the American probe Mariner 10 flew past Mercury.
In December 1973 Pioneer flew past Jupiter. Pioneer II reached Jupiter in December 1974 and it reached Saturn in September 1979.
Meanwhile on 19 April 1971 the Russians launched the first space station, Salyut I. On 14 May 1973 the USA launched a space station named Skylab.
Meanwhile in 1971 Mariner 9 photographed what seemed to be dried-up riverbeds on Mars. That suggested that the atmosphere of Mars was once thicker and there was liquid water on the planet. It raised the possibility that there was once life on Mars.
The Americans sent probes to search for evidence of life on Mars. Two probes were sent, Viking I and Viking 2. Viking I landed in July 1976 and Viking 2 landed in September 1976. Neither found any evidence of life on Mars.
The 1980s
In 1980 India launched a satellite named Rohini.
The first space shuttle, Columbia was launched on 12 April 1981. Challenger flew its first mission in 1983 and Discovery flew its first mission in 1984. Space shuttle Atlantis flew its first mission in 1985. Disaster struck in January 1986 when Challenger exploded in January 1986 killing all on board. Space shuttle Endeavour was built to replace Challenger and it flew its first mission in 1992.
On a brighter note Voyager I reached Saturn in 1980. In 1981 Voyager II flew past Saturn. In 1986 Voyager 2 reached Uranus. In 1989 Voyager 2 reached Neptune.
In February 1986 the Russians launched their Mir space station. In 1988 Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov became the first human beings to spend a year in space. Mir fell back to Earth in 2001.
The 1990s
The Hubble Telescope was launched from the space shuttle Discovery in April 1990. In August 1990 the Magellan probe went into orbit around Venus and accurately mapped the surface of the planet.
In 1995 Galileo went into orbit around Jupiter. It sent a probe that descended through Jupiter's atmosphere by parachute and sent back valuable information.
In 1997 the Cassini probe was launched. It reached Saturn in 2004.
The 2000s
The Chinese launched their first manned spacecraft in 2003.
The New Horizons probe was launched in 2006. It is scheduled to reach Pluto and Charon in 2015.
Meanwhile in 2008 the first Chinese taikonaut walked in space. Also in 2008 India launched its first space probe, a lunar probe named Chandrayaan 1.
Today space exploration is continuing apace and the USA plans to return to the Moon by 2020.