1957 - The space age begins when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. The following year, the U.S. forms NASA.
1961 - Soviet Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man to travel in space.
1962 - John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth.
1969 - American Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon. He is accompanied by the missionis copilot, Buzz Aldrin.
1975 - An Apollo spacecraft docks with a Soviet Soyuz craft. It is the first joint U.S.-Soviet mission.
1976 - NASAis unmanned Viking 1 becomes the first spacecraft to land on Mars.
1990 - Hubble, the worldis first space telescope, is placed in orbit by the U.S. shuttle Discovery.
1997 - NASA and European space agencies launch the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. It begins a 2.2 billionnmile journey to Saturn.
2000 - The International Space Station receives its first crew.
2004 - The Spirit and Opportunity rovers land on Mars.