Humanity has long been fascinated by exploring space and discovering new worlds. Many key events in the early history of space exploration involved firsts in reaching Earth orbit and the Moon, including the first satellite Sputnik 1, first animal Laika and human Yuri Gagarin in space. Robotic exploration of Mars began in the 1960s and ongoing missions continue to provide more details about the planet's geology, climate and potential for past life. Future plans involve potential manned missions and colonization of Mars.

2. • Humanity's interest in the heavens has been universal
and enduring.
• Humans are driven to explore the unknown, discover
new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and
technical limits, and then push further.

3. • Protecting and Understanding our World.
• Inspiration and Exploration.
• New Technology.
• Answering Unknown Questions.
• International Collaboration.
• Long-term Survival.

4. • The first steps of putting a man-made object into space were taken
by German scientists during World War II.
• The first scientific exploration from space was the cosmic
radiation experiment launched by the U.S.
• The first images of Earth taken from space in the year 1946.

6. • The first successful orbital launch was of
the Soviet unmanned Sputnik 1 mission on 4 October 1957. The
satellite weighed about 83 kg (183 lb), and is believed to have
orbited Earth at a height of about 250 km .
Sputnik-1 Launching sputnik-1

7. • Laika was a Soviet space dog who became one of the
first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth.
• Laika, a stray dog from the streets of Moscow, was selected to be
the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 that was launched
into outer space on November 3, 1957.

8. • The first successful human spaceflight was Vostok 1 carrying 27
year old Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961. The
spacecraft completed one orbit around the globe, lasting about 1
hour and 48 minutes.
Yuri Gagarin Alan Shephard John Glenn

9. • Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, orbited the
Earth 48 times aboard Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963.

10. • Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed the first humans
on the other celestial body, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin, on July 20, 1969.
Neil Armstrong Buzz Aldrin Michael Collins

11. • Mars has always been a source of inspiration for explorers and
scientists. Robotic and scientific robotic missions have shown that
Mars has characteristics and a history similar to Earth's, but we
know that there are striking differences that we have yet to begin
to understand.

12. • Between 1960 and 1969, the Soviet Union, launched nine probes
intended to reach Mars. They all failed, three at launch, three
failed to reach near-Earth orbit.
• In 1973, the Soviet Union sent four more probes to Mars:
the Mars 4 and Mars 5 orbiters and the Mars 6 and Mars 7.

13. • In 1964, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory made two attempts at
reaching Mars. Mariner 3 and Mariner 4 were identical spacecraft
designed to carry out the first flybys of Mars. Mariner 3 was
launched on November 5, 1964.
Mars crater seen from Mariner 4

14. • Mars Pathfinder was a U.S. spacecraft that landed a base station
with a roving probe on Mars on July 4, 1997. It consisted of a
lander and a small 10.6 kilograms wheeled robotic rover named
Sojourner, which was the first rover to operate on the surface of
Mars.

15. • NASA retooled and launched Mars Global Surveyor (MGS).
• This mission was the first successful United States mission, to the
red planet in two decades when it launched November 7, 1996,
and entered orbit on September 12, 1997.

16. • The mission studied the entire Martian surface, atmosphere, and
interior, and returned more data about the red planet than all
previous Mars missions combined.
Martian Surface

18. • In 2001 NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter arrived at Mars. Its mission
is to use spectrometers and imagers to hunt for evidence of past or
present water and volcanic activity on Mars.
• In 2002, it was announced that the probe's gamma ray spectrometer
had detected large amounts of hydrogen, indicating that there are vast
deposits of water ice in the south pole of Mars.

19. • On June 2, 2003, the European Space Agency's Mars Express set
off to Mars. The Mars Express craft consists of the Mars Express
Orbiter and the lander Beagle 2.
• The Mars Express Orbiter confirmed the presence of water ice and
carbon dioxide ice at the planet's south pole.

20. • NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER) is an ongoing
robotic space mission involving two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity,
exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the sending of
the two rovers—MER-A Spirit and MER-B Opportunity—to
explore the Martian surface and geology.
Spirit Rover Opportunity Rover

21. • The NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission with its rover
named Curiosity, was launched on November 26, 2011.
Curiosity Rover Selfie of Curiosity Rover

22. • The rover carries instruments designed to look for past or present
conditions relevant to the past or present habitability of Mars.
The Curiosity rover landed on Mars on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater,
between Peace Vallis and Aeolis Mons on August 6, 2012.

23. • NASA's MAVEN is an orbiter mission to study the atmosphere of
Mars. It will also serve as a communications relay satellite for
robotic landers and rovers on the surface of Mars. MAVEN was
launched 18 November 2013 and reached Mars on 22 September
2014.

24. • The Mars Orbiter Mission, also called Mangalyaan, was launched
on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research
Organisation(ISRO). It was successfully inserted into Martian
orbit on 24 September 2014.

25. • The mission is a technology demonstrator, it will also study the
Martian atmosphere. It also made India the first country to reach
Mars orbit on its first attempt and also the first Asian country to
successfully send an orbiter to Mars.

26. • The future of manned space exploration is bright, according to
some space experts.
• Humans may one day tread across some of the alien worlds that
today can be studied only at a distance.
Colonies on Mars City on Mars

27. • Private companies are planning their own trips to the Red Planet. Mars
One is planning on sending a group of people to colonize the planet on
a one-way mission in 2022.
A House on Mars Shopping centre on Mars