On December 15, 1970, humanity accomplished something that once seemed firmly in the realm of science fiction. A robotic spacecraft built by the Soviet Union survived its descent through the crushing atmosphere of Venus and transmitted data back to Earth from the planet’s surface. That spacecraft was Venera 7, and its success marked one of …
On April 12, 1961, history was made when a young Soviet pilot named Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space. Aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Gagarin completed a single orbit around Earth, forever changing humanity’s relationship with the cosmos. His journey was a defining moment in the Space Race, proving that humans …
