Phoenix lands on Mars (2008)
Phoenix was an uncrewed space probe that landed on the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008, and operated until November 2, 2008. Phoenix was operational on Mars for 157 sols (161 days). Its instruments were used…
Happy Birthday Alexander Gerst (1976)
Alexander Gerst (born 3 May 1976 in Künzelsau, Baden-Württemberg) is a German European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and geophysicist, who was selected in 2009 to take part in space training. He was part of the International Space…
Happy Birthday Victor Glover (1976)
Victor Jerome Glover Jr. (born April 30, 1976) is an American naval officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut of the 2013 class. A former F/A‑18 pilot and graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, in 2020,…
Pioneer 11 is launched (1973)
Pioneer 11 (also known as Pioneer G) is a NASA robotic space probe launched on April 5, 1973, to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter and Saturn, the solar wind, and cosmic rays. It was the first probe to encounter Saturn,…
Happy Birthday Jim Lovell (1928)
James Arthur Lovell Jr. (March 25, 1928 – August 7, 2025) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he, along with Frank Borman and William Anders,…
Maiden Flight of the Shuttle Enterprise (1977)
The Space Shuttle Enterprise (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) is the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test flights after…
Pioneer 10 Satellite Has Closest Approach to Jupiter (1973)
Pioneer 10 (originally designated Pioneer F) is a NASA space probe launched in 1972 that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter. Pioneer 10 became the first of five artificial objects to achieve the escape velocity needed to leave the Solar System.…
Maiden Flight of the Space Shuttle Buran (1988)
Buran was the first spaceplane to be produced as part of the Soviet/Russian Buran program. The Buran orbiters were similar in design to the U.S. Space Shuttle.Buran completed one uncrewed spaceflight in 1988, and was…
Voyager 2 Passes Saturn (1981)
Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, as a part of the Voyager program. It was launched on a trajectory towards the gas giants…
Viking 1 is Launched to Mars (1975)
Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft, along with Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander, sent to Mars as part of NASA’s Viking program. The…
The Magellan Space Probe Reaches Venus (1989)
The Magellan spacecraft was a 1,035-kilogram (2,282 lb) robotic space probe launched by NASA on May 4, 1989. Its mission objectives were to map the surface of Venus by using…
First Images of Halley’s Comet Captured
The 1986 apparition of Halley’s Comet gave scientists the opportunity to study the comet closely, and several probes were launched to do so. The Soviet Vega 1 probe began returning…