This document summarizes the history of space exploration from early space programs like Sputnik to current Mars rover missions. It discusses key events like the first human spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin and the Apollo moon landings. NASA and Soviet/Russian space agency accomplishments are outlined. Current unmanned missions to planets and comets are also briefly described, along with future colonization proposals like Mars One.

1. Thanassis Zitonoulis
Nassos Karahalios
G2
2nd Experimental Junior High School of Athens
Project in English 2017

2.  Space travel is a form of transport when passengers enter space, the vast
region outside the Earth's atmosphere.
 Space starts at 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth's crust, and it
continues to be infinite.
 Space is reshaped by celestial bodies such as stars, planets etc.

3.  Humans always wondered what exists outside their solar system
 People of the ancient times tried to explain some effects that had to do
with space such as the orbit of the earth around the sun or the
constellations.
 With the evolution of technology people had the opportunity to finally
travel and explore space.
 Later, films were made about space travelling such as Star Trek in
which space was considered “the final frontier”.

4. NASA Soviet Space Programm
The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) is an
indipendent agency of USA that is
responsible for the civilian space
program, aeronautics and aerospace
research.
It was formed on July 29 1958.
The Soviet space program of the
then Soviet Union (USSR) was
responsible for some pioneering
accomplishments in space travelling
such as Sputnik 1, Vostoc etc.
After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union
created their own missile programs.

5.  On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into
space.
 People began traveling in space in 1961 in tiny spacecrafts called capsules.
Capsules were launched from Earth by powerful rockets.
 Russian Lt. Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth in Vostok 1. His
flight lasted 108 minutes. Gagarin reached an altitude of 327 kilometers.
 Russian crews still travel in this kind of craft, in Soyuz capsules.
“Soyuz capsule”
Sputnik 1

6. “Vostok 1 capsule which carried Yuri Gagarin on the first
manned space flight (April 12, 1961). (RKK Energiya
Museum outside of Moscow)”.
“The Sputnik 1 spacecraft (1957) was the first artificial
satellite successfully placed in orbit around the Earth.”

7.  Americans however, travelled into space shuttles, which are
rocket-powered space planes.
 'Explorer 1' was the first U.S. Satellite that went into orbit on
January 31, 1958.
 The first American to orbit Earth was John Glenn on February
20, 1962.
 In 1961 Alan Shepard became the first American to fly into
space.
“Space shuttle”

8. Humans on the moon
 During the 1960s the moon was photographed and examined by an
anmanned spacecraft.
 On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first ever human to take
“a giant step for mankind” as he stepped onto the moon.
 After that, there were six Apollo missions that were carried out to explore
the moon between 1969 and 1972.
“Neil Armstrong' s footprint on moon's
surface”

9.  Voyager spacecraft sent back detailed
images of Jupiter and Saturn, their
rings, and their moons.
Skylab
Skylab, was America’s first space
station and the Apollo Soyuz Test
Project was the world’s first
internationally crewed (American and
Russian) space mission.
Voyager spacecraft

10. During the 1980s Satellites
were used:
 for carrying television programs,
people were able to pick up the
satellite signals on their home
dish antennas
 for the discovery of an ozone
hole over Antarctica
 for pinpointing forest fires
 for giving us photographs of the
nuclear power-plant disaster at
Chernobyl in1986.
 for providing information
during wars regarding enemy
troops about their place and
movement, early warning of
enemy missile attacks, and
precise navigation in the
desert terrain.

11.  The Challenger tragedy led to
a re-evaluation of America’s
space program.
 The Challenger was the first
spacecraft to carry a school
teacher that was going into
space. The launch of
Challenger had been delayed
five times due to bad weather,
January 28 was the coldest
day that NASA has ever
launched a shuttle.
“73 seconds into flight, the Orbiter Challenger exploded,
killing all seven of its crew. Challenger exploded 73
seconds after launch”

13.  The International Space Station
is a research laboratory in low
Earth orbit. Different partners
contribute to its design and
construction.
 Nowadays it has become a
symbol of cooperation in space
exploration.
“international space station”

14. “The Salyut programme”
The “Salyut programme” was the
first space-station programme
undertaken by the Soviet Union.

15.  Mars is the fourth planet and the
second smallest planet of our solar
system.
 It is also known as the “Red Planet”
because of an atom named iron oxide
that gives the planet its red colour.
 Distance from Sun: an average 227.9
million km. Year length :687 days
 Day length: 24 hours 37 minutes 23
seconds
 Atmosphere : 95% carbon dioxide, 2%
argon, 3% nitrogen
 Surface temperature average: -23° C
 Natural satellites: Phobos and Deimos
The gravity of Mars is only 38% as
strong as the gravity of Earth.
The highest point on Mars is Olympus
Mons, a volcano more than 16 miles
tall. Astronomers say it is the tallest
mountain in the Solar System.

16. Curiocity is a robotic rover that
was launced on the 6th of
November 2011 and landed on
Mars on August 6th 2012
Its main goals are:
 to investigate Mars' climate
and geology
 to determine if Mars was ever
able to support microbial life
 to determine if Mars can
support human life in the future
“Curiosity rover is finding evidence of how ancient lakes and
wet underground environments changed on Mars' surface
billions of years ago”

17. Images Taken by the Curiosity Rover
“Martian Valley” “Dunes on Mars' surface”
“Sunset on Mars - captured on 15th of
April 2015”
“Solar eclipse from Mars. Curiosity
captured Phobos, one of the two
small martian moons passing in
front of the Sun in July, 2015.”

18.  Mars One is an organization that
has proposed to land the first
humans on Mars so that it can
establish a permanent human
colony there by 2025.
 Mars One's original concept is first,
to launch a robotic lander and
orbiter as early as 2020 and then,
to send a human crew of four in
2024 and one in 2026.
 The crew is planned to be
consisted of applicants who will
become the first permanent
residents of Mars with no plan of
returning to Earth.
 Other options include a proposed
television documentary program
documenting the journey.

19. “How the settlement will look like”

20. Among with missions to other planets there were also attemts to land a
spacecraft on commets.
One example is Rosetta, a space probe launched by ESA that had as its mission
to land on a commet and give specific details about its surface.

21. Rosetta was launced on 2nd of March 2004.
Due to technical problems and communication issues
rosetta crashed on the commet and the mission failed.

22. Cosmic Vision is a long-term space science missions programme by the
European Space Agency (ESA)
Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 was designed to address four main questions
that are high on the agenda of research across Europe (and the world)
concerning the Universe and our place in it
What the conditions are for planet formation and the emergence of life
How the Solar System works
What the fundamental physical laws of the Universe are
How the Universe originated and what it is made of

23. https://www.nasa.gov/
http://www.aerospace.org/education/stem-outreach/space-primer/a-brief-
history-of-space-exploration/
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-space-travel.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_program
http://spacetoday.org/SolSys/Mars/MarsThePlanet/MarsSeasons.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars#Search_for_life
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong
http://www.mars-one.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_One#Criticism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(spacecraft)#End_of_mission
http://earthsky.org/space/curiositys-10-best-images-of-mars-in-2015
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-035
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA
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