Lost in Space? - Don't Know Much About Geography - page 166

1989 The U.S. Magellan maps Venus in unprecedented detail.
1990 Voyager 1 , launched in 1977, flies by the Jupiter and Saturn systems and takes the first portrait
of the solar system. The Hubble Space Telescope, a $2.1 billion orbiting telescope designed to see
farther into space than ever before, is launched. Soon afterward, a flaw is discovered in one of its
primary mirrors, seriously limiting the telescope's capabilities.
1992 Despite its flaws, the Hubble Telescope sends back information, including data on the hottest
star ever recorded—thirty-three times hotter than our sun.
1992 A team at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory led by George Smoot announces the discovery of
“ripples” in space that have been detected by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), offering
significant new evidence in support of the Big Bang Theory.
1992 Three astronauts working outside the newest space shuttle, the Endeavour , recapture a dam-
aged satellite by hand in a daring and unprecedented space walk that demonstrates the value of the
much-maligned shuttle program.
1995 Galileo becomes the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter.
1996 Mars Pathfinder is launched and becomes the first spacecraft to land on Mars since 1976.
1998 The first component of the International Space Station (ISS) is launched.
1999 The world's most powerful X-ray telescope, the Chandra Observatory, is launched.
2000 NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) Shoemaker becomes the first spacecraft to orbit and
land on an asteroid (named Eros).
The first resident crew comes aboard the ISS.
2001 Mars Odyssey , an unmanned spacecraft, is launched by the United States; its findings include
the presence of frozen water in the polar regions of Mars.
2003 Mars Express is launched. Its lander will examine rocks and solids on the surface of Mars.
The twin Mars Exploration Rovers are launched. These six-wheel robotic rovers find evidence of
water in the Martian past.
2003 Shenzou 5 becomes the first Chinese spacecraft to orbit Earth.
The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates while returning from a space flight, claiming the lives of
seven crewmembers.
2004 Spaceship One becomes the first privately funded human spaceflight.