What it is
The space age began in 1957 with Sputnik 1. Twelve years later Apollo 11 put people on the Moon, and in 1977 the two Voyager probes left on a tour of the outer planets.
Exploration today is a mix of crewed stations, robotic explorers and great observatories. People have lived continuously on the International Space Station since November 2000, and Voyager 1 has been in interstellar space since 2012.
The space age
The milestones of human and robotic exploration, from the first powered flight to Webb.
- 1903 Wright Flyer. First sustained · Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
- 1957 Sputnik 1. First artificial satellite · NASA
- 1969 Apollo 11. First humans on the Moon · NASA
- 1977 Voyager 1 and 2 launch · NASA Science
- 2000 First long-term crew on the ISS · NASA
- 2012 Voyager 1 enters interstellar space · NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- 2021 James Webb Space Telescope launches · NASA Science
Sources: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum · NASA · NASA · NASA Science · NASA · NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory · NASA Science
Ideas to carry
- 1
Robots go first
Most of what we know about other worlds came from machines that never came back.
- 2
Seeing Earth from outside
Photos from space changed how people saw their own planet.
- 3
Patience as a technology
Voyager has been working for nearly half a century on its original mission design.
Established What we know
- The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, on 4 October 1957.[1]
- Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the Moon in July 1969.[2]
- Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in August 2012, the first human-made object to do so.[3]
- The International Space Station has been continuously crewed since November 2000.[4]
Interpretation The older lens · Comparative myth
The hero’s journey, leaving, crossing a threshold and returning changed, is the oldest map of exploration.
Reading
- 1994Pale Blue DotCarl Sagan
- 1994A Man on the MoonAndrew Chaikin
- currentVoyager mission pagesNASA
Voyager 1, launched 1977
Still working. My phone from 2021: 🪦
Connected subjects, projects and writing
- AstronomySubject · Cosmos
Established Spacecraft and space telescopes are how modern astronomy sees.
- Travel and expeditionsSubject · Frontier
Journeys beyond the familiar map, and why nature and novelty reset attention.
Sources
- 60 years ago, the Space Age began NASA, 2017. Checked 5 Nov 2026.
- Apollo 11 NASA. Checked 5 Nov 2026.
- NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey Into Interstellar Space NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2013. Checked 5 Nov 2026.
- International Space Station NASA. Checked 5 Nov 2026.
- Voyager NASA Science. Checked 5 Nov 2026.