Sputnik 1 was a sphere made of aluminum, 23 in. (58cm) in diameter, weighing 184 lb.(83 kg). Sputnik orbited the Earth in 96.2 minutes.Unmanned and manned space probes have furnished an enormous new source of scientific data on the origin and nature of our solar system and the universe.
Unmanned Missions
Sputnik 1 was a sphere made of aluminum, 23 in. (58cm) in diameter, weighing 184 lb.(83 kg). Sputnik orbited the Earth in 96.2 minutes.
On November 3, 1957 Sputnik 2, which relayed the first biomedical measurements from space, was launched with a dog named Laika aboard.
On January 31,1958 the United States successfully launched Explorer 1, its first Earth satellite.
On March 17, 1958 the second satellite launced by the United States was called Vanguard 2. An accurate study of variations in its orbit displayed that the Earth is somewhat pear-shaped.
September 12, 1959 the Russian probe Luna 2 smacked into the moon 36 hours later. After that date, numerous moon shots have been attempted by both countries, with various results.
On September 12, 1970 the USSR launced the Luna 16 spacecraft which landed on the lunar surface and placed about 4 oz (113 gr) of soil in a secured container that was then transported from the lunar surface and recovered in the USSR.
Manned Missions
On July 16, 1969 Apollo 11 accomplished the long-awaited goal of mankind of truly landing on the moon.
The next moon-landing flight began on November 14, 1969, when Apollo 12 was launched.
On April 11, 1970 Apollo 13, carrying veteran astronaut Lovell and the civilian astronauts Fred W. Haise, Jr., and John L. Swigert, Jr., was launched. Unfortunately, they never made it to the moon because of a ruptured oxygen tank.
The mission of the aborted Apollo 13 was accomplished by the crew of Apollo 14, launched on January 31, 1971, after modifications were carried out in the spacecraft to prevent the malfunctions encountered by Apollo 13.
During their 18 hours, 37 minutes of exploration of the lunar surface, the astronauts of Apollo 15 traversed more than 28.2 km (17.5 mi) in the vicinity of Mount Hadley in an electrically propelled four-wheeled lunar rover.
On April 16, 1972, astronauts Young, Charles Moss Duke, Jr., and Thomas Kenneth (Ken) Mattingly were launched on the Apollo 16 mission to the moon, to explore the Descartes Highlands and the Cayley Plains regions.
The projected missions to the moon by the United States were concluded with the flight of Apollo 17 during December 6-19, 1972.
