Space
The missions that carried humanity beyond Earth
Sputnik Launch: The Beep That Started the Space Age
On 4 October 1957, a polished metal ball the size of a beach ball began circling Earth, beeping. It had no crew, no flag and it changed the 20th century overnight.
Apollo 11 Moon Landing: One Small Step, One Giant Leap
On 20 July 1969, half a billion people held their breath as a fuzzy black-and-white image showed a boot pressing into lunar dust. Humanity had left its home planet.
The Challenger Disaster: When the Sky Turned to Grief
On 28 January1986, a shuttle lifted off before a nation's schoolchildren and 73 seconds later broke apart in a fountain of fire. America's faith in the heavens fractured.
Hubble Telescope Launch: A Clouded Eye That Learned to See
In 1990, a school-bus-sized telescope rose into orbit then sent back blurred pictures. The most ambitious eye on the universe had been built with a flawed mirror.
Mars Rover Landing: Seven Minutes of Terror
In 2012, a car-sized robot named Curiosity fell toward Mars at 21,000 km/h. For seven minutes, no one on Earth could help. Then a signal: 'Touchdown confirmed.'
Voyager Leaves the Solar System: A Message in the Dark
Launched in 1977, two probes toured the planets and kept going. In 2012, Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space the first human-made object to leave the Sun's realm.
International Space Station Begins: A Lab Above the Nations
In 1998, pieces launched from rival superpowers met in orbit and were bolted together by hand. The cold War's enemies built a home in the sky.
Chandrayaan-1: India Finds Water on the Moon
In 2008, a small Indian probe circled the Moon and fired an impactor into its south pole. The data revealed what everyone had doubted: the Moon is not bone dry.
Chandrayaan-3: India Lands at the Moon's South Pole
On 23 August2023, a nation of 1.4 billion held its breath as a lander touched down in the Moon's unexplored south. Only one country had ever done what came next and it was India.
The Artemis Program: Returning to the Moon to Stay
More than half a century after Apollo, a new program aims not for a flag and footprints but a lasting presence and this time, the first woman and first person of color will walk the Moon.