Jean Luc Picard, 2064

Important Events in Space Exploration and the Conquest of Mars

October 4, 1957 - the Soviet Union opens the frontier of space with the launch of SPUTNIK1.

March 5, 1958 - President Eisenhower approved the formation of a civilian space agency call NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics).

October 1, 1958 - NACA was transformed into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

January 2, 1959 - the Soviet probe, LUNA1, was the first object to escape Earth's gravitational field. The probe passed the Moon and continued into interplanetary space.

April 12, 1961 - the USSR launched the world's first manned spacecraft, VOSTOK. Yuir Gagarin was the pilot of the craft.

November 1965 - France becomes the third nation with an independent spaceflight cability when it orbited its first satellite, A-1.

1967 - Australia lauches its own satellite, but remains best-known for its tracking facilities.

July 20, 1969 - Neil Armstrong from the United States of America sets his foot on the surface of the moon.

1970 - Japan and the People's Republic of China become the fourth and fifth nations to possess independent launch capabilities with Osumi and China1, respectively, were launched from within these two countries.

1971 - Great Britain became the sixth nation to join the club when it launched the Prospero satellite.

April 19, 1971 - the USSR launches the first true space station, SALYUT1.

May 14, 1973 - the United States orbited its first space station, SKYLAB.

March 2, 1978- the Czech cosmonaut, Bladimir Remek, became the first non-Soviet and non- U.S. citizen to enter space.

September 18, 1980 - Cuban, Arnaldo Tamayo MeCndez, became the first black person to orbit the Earth.

1980 - India became the seventh nation in space when it orbited a satellite from its Sriharikota Launching Range.

1988 - Israel became the eighth space nation when it launched a small satellite from the Negev desert.

1983 - the European Space Agency (ESA) provided a number of smaller countries to participate in space explorations as it became operational using the Ariane launch vehicle.

1989 - Canada formed a central organization, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), to coordinate its activities in space exploration. The Canadians developed the robot arm used on the Space Shuttle.

December 3, 1996 - the United States of America discovers the presence of water on the moon.

July 4, 1997 - the United States of America lands the unmanned vehicle named Pathfinder on the surface of Mars. The remote controlled rover, named Sojourner, begins scientific exploration of the Martian surface.

May 19, 2002 - the United States of America constructs the first settlement on the surface of the moon.

January 18, 2006 - Scott Goold and six other representatives of a multi-national space expedition, piloted by Captian David M. Rosenbaum, begin the first manned mission to the Red Planet.

April 5, 2064 - First Contact -- is made with an Alien race of beings as the United Federation Away Team meets with the Vulcan Representative.

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