Image of an astronaut and the Lunar Rover.
Click on image for full size
Aris Multimedia Entertainment, Inc 1994.
Human Spaceflight
It was not long after the first space satellites were launched that we
succeeded in getting a human being into space. These first astronauts
and cosmonauts (the Russian word for astronaut) were test pilots who were
very familiar with flying in fast and dangerous planes! The first human
being to travel into space was Yuri Gagarin (USSR, 1961), followed a month
later by the US astronaut Alan Shepard.
Once we found out that humans could travel in space, a "space race"
quickly developed between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States
main interest was to land on the moon. The Soviet Union was more interested in
setting endurance records and doing scientific research.
Russia, the United States, and 14 other countries are now working together on the International Space Station project.
For a brief history of the United States and Soviet Union human spaceflight programs, click
here.
Discover more about human spaceflight through the links below!
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Learn about Earth and space science, and have fun while doing it! The
games section of our
online store includes a
climate change card game and the
Traveling Nitrogen game!
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