The Space Race

Yuri Gagarin was the first person to travel into space and orbit the Earth, aboard Vostok 1.

Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once aboard Vostok 1, becoming the first human in space and the first to orbit the planet.

Alan Shepard flies a 15-minute suborbital hop aboard Freedom 7, becoming the first American in space three weeks after Gagarin.

John Glenn circles the Earth three times aboard Friendship 7, the first American to orbit the planet.

Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to fly in space, aboard Vostok 6.

Valentina Tereshkova spends nearly three days in orbit aboard Vostok 6, the first woman to fly in space.

Alexei Leonov made the first extravehicular activity, floating outside his Voskhod 2 capsule.

Alexei Leonov leaves his Voskhod 2 capsule for about twelve minutes, the first human to walk in space.

The Soviet Luna 9 makes the first soft landing on the Moon and returns the first pictures from its surface.

The crew of Apollo 8 become the first humans to leave Earth orbit and circle the Moon, returning the famous Earthrise photograph.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon while Michael Collins orbits above — the first humans to set foot on another world.

Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, the first humans to walk on another world.

An oxygen tank explodes on the way to the Moon; the crew and mission control improvise a safe return, turning a near-disaster into a triumph of ingenuity.

Venera 7 returned data from the surface of Venus, the first successful landing on another planet.

The Soviet Venera 7 transmits from the surface of Venus, the first successful landing on another planet.

Salyut 1 was the first space station, the beginning of humans living and working in orbit.

The Soviet Union launches Salyut 1, the world's first space station, beginning the long human effort to live and work in orbit.

The final Apollo landing; Eugene Cernan is, to date, the last person to walk on the Moon, and geologist Harrison Schmitt the only scientist to do so.

The United States launches Skylab, its first space station, where crews study the Sun and the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body.