Exploring the Solar System: A History with 22 Activities
1962 Mariner 2 to Venus is the first successful space probe to another planet 1964 Ranger 7 is the first space probe to send back close ups of the Moon 1965 Mariner 4 is the first spacecraft to successfully fly by Mars 1966 Luna 9 is the first space probe to soft land on the Moon and photogrpah its surface 1967 Venera 4 to Venus is the first atmospheric space probe 1968 Zond 5 is the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and return to Earth 1969 Apollo 11 delivers the first humans to the Moon 1970 Venera 7 to Venus is the first spacecraft to successfully land on another planet Luna 16 is the first sample return mission bringing soil samples from the Moon's surface back to Earth Luna 17 delivers the first robotic rover Lunokhod 1 to the Moon 1971 Mariner 9 in its journey to Mars is the first planetary orbiter 1973 Pioneer 10 is the first spacecraft to pass through the aster oid belt and the first to visit Jupiter
1974 Mariner 10 is the first spacecraft to use gravity assist and the first to fly by Mercury 1975 Venera 9 is the first Venus orbiter and the first lander to send photos from the surface of another planet 1976 Viking 1 and Viking 2 are the first soft landers on Mars 1977 James Elliot discovers Uranus s rings 1979 Pioneer 11 is the first space probe to visit Saturn 1983 Venera 15 is the first radar mapping probe to Venus 1986 Vega 1 Vega 2 Sakigake Suisei and Giotto make flybys of Halley's Comet Voyager 2 is the first spacecraft to visit Uranus 1990 Hubble Space Telescope is the first orbiting telescope 1991 Galileo is the first space probe to fly by an asteroid Gaspra 1994 Hubble Space Telescope creates the first maps of Pluto and photographs the comet Shoemaker Levy 9's impact with Jupiter 1995 Galileo is the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter and releases the first atmospheric probe to Jupiter 1997 Comet Hale Bopp is visible to the naked eye Mars Pathfinder delivers the first rover Sojourner to Mars 2001 NEAR Shoemaker to Eros is the first spacecraft to orbit and land on an asteroid 2004 Cassini is the first orbiter of Saturn 2005 Huygens sets down on Titan the first probe to land in the outer solar system Mike Brown discovers Eris 2006 First spacecraft to visit Pluto New Horizons launches
