The history of space exploration

Rockets were invented in China around the thirteenth century, but the science of spaceflight began in the early twentieth century. The Russian teacher Konstantin Tsiolkovsky worked out the rocket equation and proposed multi-stage rockets and liquid fuels. In 1926 the American Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fuelled rocket.

During the Second World War, German engineers led by Wernher von Braun developed the V-2, the first long-range guided ballistic missile and the first human-made object to cross into space. After the war, both the United States and the Soviet Union recruited German rocket experts and built on their work.

On 4 October 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, a metal sphere that broadcast radio beeps as it orbited. Its success shocked the United States, which founded NASA in 1958.

The Soviets kept setting records. The dog Laika became the first animal to orbit Earth in 1957. On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, completing one orbit. In 1963 Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, and in 1965 Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk.

In 1961 President John F. Kennedy committed the United States to landing a man on the Moon before the decade was out. The Mercury and Gemini programmes developed the skills needed, and the Apollo programme built the enormous Saturn V rocket.

The programme suffered tragedy when a fire killed the Apollo 1 crew during a test in 1967. In December 1968 Apollo 8 carried the first humans around the Moon, and on 20 July 1969 Apollo 11 landed. Six Apollo missions landed in total, ending with Apollo 17 in 1972.

• The Soviet Union launched Salyut 1, the first space station, in 1971.
• The Soviet Mir station operated from 1986 to 2001 and hosted long-duration stays.
• NASA's Space Shuttle flew from 1981 to 2011, launching satellites and building space stations; the Challenger and Columbia disasters killed 14 astronauts.
• The International Space Station, built by the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada, has been continuously occupied since November 2000.
• China launched its first astronaut in 2003 and now operates its own Tiangong space station.

Uncrewed probes have visited every planet. The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, launched in 1977, flew past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and both have since crossed into interstellar space. They carry golden records with sounds and images of Earth.

Rovers such as Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance have explored Mars, finding evidence of ancient water. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, transformed astronomy, and the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in December 2021, observes in infrared to see some of the earliest galaxies.

Space activity has broadened far beyond two superpowers. India, Japan, Europe and China run ambitious programmes; India's Chandrayaan-3 landed near the Moon's south pole in 2023. Private companies now launch satellites and astronauts, and reusable rockets that land after launch have sharply reduced costs.

Tens of thousands of satellites now provide communications, navigation, weather forecasting and Earth observation. That growth brings problems, including space debris that threatens spacecraft and concerns among astronomers about satellites streaking across telescope images.