- First artificial satellite: Sputnik 1 (Soviet Union), launched on October 4, 1957, was the very first human-made object in orbit.
- First probe to escape Earth orbit: Pioneer 4 (USA), launched in March 1959, was the first to escape Earth's gravity to fly by the Moon.
- First planetary flyby: Mariner 2 (USA) successfully passed Venus in December 1962, returning the first data from another planet.
- First outer solar system probes: Pioneer 10 (launched 1972) and Pioneer 11 (launched 1973) preceded Voyager in exploring the asteroid belt and Jupiter.
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were deployed in 1977
VOYAGER II
Voyager 1's path started with gravity assists from Jupiter (1979) and Saturn (1980), slingshotting it upwards out of the ecliptic plane towards interstellar space, aiming towards the constellation Ophiuchus, becoming the first spacecraft to enter the interstellar medium in 2012, and is currently heading out of our solar system into the vastness beyond. Its trajectory uses planetary gravity to gain speed, taking it on a unique, steep, upward arc away from the other planets.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is currently the most advanced, largest, and powerful space telescope ever launched, designed to observe the universe in infrared light. Launched in December 2021, its 6.5-meter mirror allows it to see the first galaxies, study exoplanets, and pierce through cosmic dust with unprecedented sensitivity.
The Three (so far) Interstellar Objects: 1. Oumuamua, 2. Borisov, and 3. Atlas
July 1, 2025: 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object ever discovered in our solar system. Telescope observations suggest it is a roughly 7-mile-wide (11 kilometers) comet zooming at more than 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h). Astronomers discovered it in early July as it emerged from beyond the orbit of Jupiter. An analysis of the comet's composition and unusually flat, straight trajectory revealed that it did not originate within our cosmic neighborhood, and was likely ejected from a distant star system long before our sun ever formed.
The exotic comet has many peculiar properties, from its chemical composition to its large size. This has fuelled speculation that the comet is an alien spacecraft intentionally guided here. That's almost certainly not the case, but it doesn't mean that astronomers aren't excited about studying it to better understand the conditions around other stars, the early Milky Way, and the frontier of interstellar space. Live Science will continue to follow the latest research as the comet reemerges from the far side of the sun in mid-November, becoming visible to Earth-based telescopes once again.
The Oort Cloud is an invisible 1.5 light-year wall around our solar system
Jan 14, 2026 #Astronomy #NASA #NSN NASA's Voyager spacecraft crossed the heliopause - the boundary where the Sun's influence ends and interstellar space begins. New data reveal that this region is far more structured and energetic than scientists expected, changing how we understand the true edge of the Solar System.
What Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have been sending us for 47 years.
What NASA Found On Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover (launched 2020, landed 2021) is a car-sized robot exploring Mars' Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microbial life and collect rock/soil samples for future return to Earth. Operating in a former river delta, it has identified ancient lake habitats and utilizes AI to navigate autonomously, marking a massive leap in planetary exploration.
