Since the first manned space mission in 1961, more than
560 people have journeyed into space – 27 on missions
to the Moon and the rest in orbit around Earth. To date,
only Russia, China, and the United States have launched
humans into space. However, humans are not the only
space travellers. Animals such as dogs, monkeys, and
spiders have all been sent into space to help with research.Space travellers
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(^7) Eileen Collins became the first
female shuttle pilot in February
1995, and the first female shuttle
commander in July 1999.
(^8) Yang Liwei was the first
Chinese astronaut (taikonaut).
China’s first manned space flight
was launched in October 2003.
(^9) Svetlana Savitskaya was the
second woman in space and
the first woman to spacewalk.
(^10) Michael Collins was the
third member of the Apollo 11
mission in 1969. He orbited
the Moon, as Armstrong and
Aldrin explored its surface.
(^11) Dennis Tito was the first space
tourist. He paid £14 million ($20
million) for a six-day trip in 2001.
(^1) Alan Shepard was the
second person, and first
American, to journey into space.
(^2) Ulf Merbold, from Germany,
became the first European to
fly aboard a space shuttle.
(^3) Jim Voss set the record for
longest spacewalk (8 hours 56
minutes) with Susan Helms.
(^4) Susan Helms (see above).
(^5) Laika was the first animal
to orbit Earth. The Russian dog
travelled in Sputnik 2 in 1957.
(^6) Alexei Leonov made the
first spacewalk in March
- He spent 10
minutes in space secured
to his Voskhod 2 craft.
(^12) Baker, a squirrel monkey, was
launched into space on 28 May
- She travelled with a rhesus
monkey called Able.
(^13) Eugene Cernan was part
of the Apollo 17 mission in
December 1972. He was the last
person to walk on the Moon.
(^14) Neil Armstrong was the first
person to set foot on the Moon.
He spent 2 hours 35 minutes
exploring the lunar surface.
(^15) Yuri Gagarin was the first
person to fly into space. His trip
in April 1961 took him once round
Earth and lasted 108 minutes.
(^16) Peggy Whitson holds the
record for the longest female
spaceflight (289.2 days).
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3
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8
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