The 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, the first Earth-orbiting satellite, sparked decades of competition in space between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Whatever the motivation, missions such as Apollo 11, Venera 9, and Cassini-Huygens have helped mankind develop an ever-widening knowledge of the Solar System and beyond.
With the end of the Cold War, competition in space exploration has increasingly given way to international collaboration.
Photo: An Apollo 16 astronaut with the lunar rover (NASA)
Apollo 11
The United States lands astronauts on the Moon.
Apollo 12
Astronauts visit a robotic probe on the Moon.
Apollo 13
Astronauts narrowly survive an explosion on the way to the Moon.
Apollo 14
Astronauts climb a crater and hit golf balls.
Apollo 15
Astronauts drive a lunar rover on the Moon for the first time.
Apollo 16
Astronauts explore the Moon's Descartes region.
Apollo 17
Harrison Schmitt becomes the only scientist to walk on the Moon.
Apollo 8
Astronauts orbit the Moon for the first time.
Apollo programme
America lands a man on the Moon.
Cassini-Huygens
An unmanned probe explores Saturn and its moons.
Galileo
The unmanned probe to Jupiter sees a comet crash.
Gemini programme
Astronauts and engineers prepare for manned Moon landings.
International Space Station (ISS)
International crews live and work in space.
Luna 2
The Soviets crash a probe into the Moon.
Luna 9
The Soviets make the first soft landing on the Moon.
Luna programme
Soviet Moon probes achieve a number of firsts.
Magellan
A NASA probe maps cloudy Venus.
Mariner 10
The first two-planet mission reaches Mercury.
Mariner 4
The first Mars flyby returns close-up photos.
Mariner 6 and 7
A two-probe mission flies by Mars in 1969.
Mariner 9
The first Mars orbiter gets a good look at the surface.
Mariner programme
Unmanned probes explore the inner Solar System.
Mars Exploration Rover
Two hardy robotic vehicles crawl across Mars.
Mars Pathfinder
A pioneering Mars rover bounces down.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
An eagle eyed probe surveys Mars.
Messenger
After 30 years, there is another mission to Mercury.
Pioneer 12 and 13
Two US probes make discoveries about Venus.
Pioneer programme
Trailblazing missions travel across the Solar System.
Ranger programme
A string of lunar crashes helps the Moon landing planners.
Skylab
Crews on the first US space station study the Sun.
Space shuttle
Look back on the world's first reusable spacecraft.
Sputnik 1
A small Soviet satellite starts the Space Age.
Surveyor programme
Unmanned probes land on the Moon to study potential landing sites.
Ulysses
A European probe flies over the Sun's poles.
Venera programme
Soviet probes battle extreme conditions on Venus.
Venus Express
A European probe finds evidence of past water on Venus.
Viking 1 and 2
Two probes search for Martian life.
Voyager 1
The Earth's ambassador to the stars is far from home.
Voyager 2
A voyage of discovery that started in the 1970s continues today.
Voyager programme
Two probes visit the outer planets on their long journey.
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