Two newly discovered moons orbiting Pluto were named Nix and Hydra.
Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reached Earth.
Cassini orbiter released the Huygens probe, which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan.
The Cosmic Call 2 mission occurred at the Eupatoria Planetary Radar in western Crimea.
Osiris became the first discovered exoplanet with an atmosphere.
Space welcomed its first tourist from Earth.
Russia's Mir Space Station was deorbited over the South Pacific Ocean.
The first crew arrived at the International Space Station onboard a Soyuz spacecraft.
Soyuz TM-31 was launched, carrying the first crew to reside long-term on the International Space Station.
A conjunction of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon occurred.
The last total solar eclipse of the 20th century occurred and was visible from Europe and Asia.
Two new moons orbiting Uranus were announced in Nature magazine.
Jupiter's moon was found to have a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
Voyager 1 passed Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-made object in space.
American Psychologist Timothy Leary and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry were launched into orbit after being cremated.
The super-bright comet 'Hale-Bopp' reached its closest point to Earth at a distance of 1.215 AU, making it visible to the naked eye.
The Hubble Space Telescope captured the first images of the surface of Pluto.
The 51 Pegasi b planet was discovered. It was the first discovered exoplanet around a sun-like star.
Two new moons of Saturn were found in photos from the Hubble Space Telescope by Astronomers Amanda S. Bosh and Andrew S. Rivkin.
The population of space hit a new record with 13 astronauts.
Gliese 229B became the first brown dwarf to be seen and identified by astronomers.
A galaxy named 'Dwingeloo 1' was discovered to be just 10 million light-years from our own.
NASA's Endeavour Space Shuttle was launched through Mission STS-61.
Carolyn & Eugene Shoemaker and David Levy discovered the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet.
Three astronauts, Richard J. Hieb, Thomas D. Akers, and Pierre J. Thuot, simultaneously walked in space for the first time.
NASA's Discovery Space Shuttle carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.
The Space Shuttle Colombia launched from the Kennedy Space Center for a secret military mission.
Israel launched its first satellite, Ofek-1, from the Palmachim Air Base.
The Soviet Union's Vega 1 Space Probe began sending back images of Halley's Comet.
Halley's Comet was last seen from Earth. It only orbits the Earth once every 75 to 76 years.
The National Space Development Agency of Japan selected Mamoru Mohri, Chiaki Mukai, and Takao Doi as Japan’s first astronauts.
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud became the first Arab and the first Muslim to fly into space.
Three Russian cosmonauts returned from space after spending a record time of 237 days in orbit.
NASA launched its Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers mission (AMPTE) from the Cape Canaveral launch pad.
All nine planets (including Pluto) lined up with the sun.
After a four-month journey, the Venera 14 spacecraft landed on Venus.
The first spacewalk was made by the Soviet cosmonaut Georgy Grechko during Salyut 6 EO-1 mission.
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project completed the world's first international space rendezvous.
The first-ever international crewed space mission was jointly launched by the US and the USSR.
The USA's first space station, Skylab, was launched into Earth's orbit.
The US spacecraft Pioneer 10 launched.
President Richard Nixon passed a new law that allowed NASA to build America's first space shuttle.
Astronauts on Apollo 15 discovered a rock that could date back to the birth of the moon.
Apollo 11 landed on the Moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
NASA's Apollo 11 orbited the moon.
NASA launched Apollo 11 from the Kennedy Space Center.
The USSR's Luna 15 robotic spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
NASA's Mariner 6 space probe successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. was selected as the first African-American astronaut.
The Outer Space Treaty was signed to prevent the use of nuclear weapons being utilized in space.
