68 years of space exploration
From landmark firsts to the milestones ahead: firsts, major missions, discoveries and accidents that shaped our relationship with space. Filter by event type.
Full timeline
The 1960s
Apollo 11: first steps on the Moon
The first crewed Moon landing in history.
The 1970s
Launch of the Voyager probes
Exploration of the outer planets, then of interstellar space.
The 1990s
Hubble telescope placed in orbit
A revolution for astronomy and our view of the Universe.
The 2010s
Curiosity lands on Mars
A mobile laboratory to study Mars's past habitability.
The 2020s
Perseverance lands in Jezero Crater
A sample-collecting rover: it seals rock cores for a future sample return to Earth.
The James Webb telescope is launched
Observing the early Universe and exoplanet atmospheres.
Artemis I, Orion test flight
Uncrewed qualification of the spacecraft that will carry humans back to the Moon.
Launch of JUICE toward Jupiter
The large European probe sets off to study Jupiter's icy moons and their oceans.
Launch of Europa Clipper
Heading to Jupiter to assess the habitability of the moon Europa.
Artemis II: successful crewed lunar flyby
First crew beyond low Earth orbit since 1972 (Apr 2026); Apollo 13's distance record broken.