First in the World – Space Odyssey

Dec 2020|🟢Current|4 min read|81 entries

First in the World Science Static GK World

Key Takeaway

In this article, we are listing all thefirst in space,technology ie, first human in space, the first satellite, the first man to land on the moon, etc for those who are preparing for the competitiv...

Last verified: 12 Feb 2026·Source: www.pscarivukal.com

Space Odyssey: First in the World(43)

Item	Detail
First Man in Space	Yuri Gagarin(USSR,1961)
Spacecraft	Vostok 1
Nickname	Columbus of the space
First Woman Cosmonaut	Valentina Tereshkova(June 16, 1963, USSR)
Spacecraft	Vostok 6
First Animal in Space	Laika(Dog, USSR, 1957)
First American in Space	Alan Shepard Jr.(1961)
First American Woman in Space	Sally Ride(Shuttle Columbia, 1983)
First Man to Walk in Space	Alexei Leonov(1965)
First Woman to Walk in Space	Svetlana Savitskaya(1984)
First Black Astronaut in Space	Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez(USSR, Cuban of African descent, September 18, 1980)
First American Astronaut to make two space flights	Gordon Cooper(USA)
First American astronaut to float in space	Edward White
First Woman to stay for the longest period in space	Christina Koch(289 consecutive days)
China's First Man in Space	Yang Liwei
First Manned Space Vehicle	Vostok 1(USSR,1961)
First Space Station	Salyut 1(USSR, 1971).11 crew members stayed for 24 days(died while returning to Earth)
First Space Lab	Skylab(USA, 1973)
First Space Shuttle	Columbia(January 16, 2003, USA)
First Unmanned Spacecraft	Shenzoo(November 20,1999, China)
First Crew transfer between the orbiting spaceships	Soyuz T-15 & Mir Space Station
First Country to send Nuclear Powered Spacecraft to explore Jupiter	USA
First Female Shuttle Commander	Eileen Collins
First Cosmonauts to spend about 17½ days in Space Endurance Flight	Adrin Nikolayev & Vitaly Sevastyanosov(Soyuz-9, June 1, 1970)
First US space shuttle to explode while returning to Earth killing all the astronauts on board	Columbia(February 1, 2003)
First Residents on the International Space Station	Bill Shepherd(USA), Yuri Gidzenko & Sergei Krikalev(Russia)
First European Woman to International Space Station	Claudie Haignere(France)
First Manned Spaceship to perform the longest stay in space	Apollo-7(11 days, USA)First reused spacecraft of NASA –Space Shuttle
First Private Manned Spacecraft	Spaceship One(June 21, 2004)
First Spacecraft to touch the surface of a comet	Deep Impact(NASA, July 4, 2005)
Comet	Temple-I
First Japanese spacecraft to land on an asteroid and collect samples	Hayabusa(November 2005, JAXA)
First Space Tourist	Denis Tito(2001)
Second Space Tourist of the World	Mark Shuttleworth(South Africa, April 2002)
First Woman Space Tourist	Anousheh Ansari(2006)
First Person to travel twice to Space as a Tourist	Charles Simonyi(March 26, 2009)
First Private Company to send astronauts to space	SpaceX(May 30, 2020)*
Spacecraft	Crew Dragon
Rocket	Falcon 9
Astronauts	Robert Behnken & Douglas Hurley(NASA)
First Space Hotel	Aurora Station(preparing to be opened in 2021, by US-company Orion Span)(Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)*
First Mobile robot to Moon	VIPER(Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)
Expected launch date	late 2023*

First Man in Space

Yuri Gagarin(USSR,1961)

Spacecraft

Vostok 1

Nickname

Columbus of the space

First Woman Cosmonaut

Valentina Tereshkova(June 16, 1963, USSR)

Spacecraft

Vostok 6

First Animal in Space

Laika(Dog, USSR, 1957)

First American in Space

Alan Shepard Jr.(1961)

First American Woman in Space

Sally Ride(Shuttle Columbia, 1983)

First Man to Walk in Space

Alexei Leonov(1965)

First Woman to Walk in Space

Svetlana Savitskaya(1984)

First Black Astronaut in Space

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez(USSR, Cuban of African descent, September 18, 1980)

First American Astronaut to make two space flights

Gordon Cooper(USA)

First American astronaut to float in space

Edward White

First Woman to stay for the longest period in space

Christina Koch(289 consecutive days)

China's First Man in Space

Yang Liwei

First Manned Space Vehicle

Vostok 1(USSR,1961)

First Space Station

Salyut 1(USSR, 1971).11 crew members stayed for 24 days(died while returning to Earth)

First Space Lab

Skylab(USA, 1973)

First Space Shuttle

Columbia(January 16, 2003, USA)

First Unmanned Spacecraft

Shenzoo(November 20,1999, China)

First Crew transfer between the orbiting spaceships

Soyuz T-15 & Mir Space Station

First Country to send Nuclear Powered Spacecraft to explore Jupiter

USA

First Female Shuttle Commander

Eileen Collins

First Cosmonauts to spend about 17½ days in Space Endurance Flight

Adrin Nikolayev & Vitaly Sevastyanosov(Soyuz-9, June 1, 1970)

First US space shuttle to explode while returning to Earth killing all the astronauts on board

Columbia(February 1, 2003)

First Residents on the International Space Station

Bill Shepherd(USA), Yuri Gidzenko & Sergei Krikalev(Russia)

First European Woman to International Space Station

Claudie Haignere(France)

First Manned Spaceship to perform the longest stay in space

Apollo-7(11 days, USA)First reused spacecraft of NASA –Space Shuttle

First Private Manned Spacecraft

Spaceship One(June 21, 2004)

First Spacecraft to touch the surface of a comet

Deep Impact(NASA, July 4, 2005)

Comet

Temple-I

First Japanese spacecraft to land on an asteroid and collect samples

Hayabusa(November 2005, JAXA)

First Space Tourist

Denis Tito(2001)

Second Space Tourist of the World

Mark Shuttleworth(South Africa, April 2002)

First Woman Space Tourist

Anousheh Ansari(2006)

First Person to travel twice to Space as a Tourist

Charles Simonyi(March 26, 2009)

First Private Company to send astronauts to space*

SpaceX(May 30, 2020)

Spacecraft

Crew Dragon

Rocket

Falcon 9

Astronauts

Robert Behnken & Douglas Hurley(NASA)

First Space Hotel*

Aurora Station(preparing to be opened in 2021, by US-company Orion Span)(Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)

First Mobile robot to Moon

VIPER(Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)

Expected launch date*

late 2023

* Time-sensitive data — verify for latest information

Planets(13)

Item	Detail
First country to take photos from the surface of another planet	USSR(Venus)
First spacecraft to measure the atmosphere of another planet	Venera 4(1967)
First to land a spacecraft on another world	Venera 9(USSR, Venus, 1975)
First spacecraft to visit Mercury	Mariner 10(1974)
First spacecraft to enter the orbit of Mercury	MESSENGER(2011)
First spacecraft send by European Space Agency to Venus	Venus Express(2005)
First spacecraft to reach Jupiter	Pioneer 10(March 1972)
First spacecraft to reach Saturn	Pioneer 11(Sept. 1, 1979)
America's first Mission to Saturn	Cassini Spacecraft(July 1, 2004)
First (& only) spacecraft to Uranus	Voyager 2(January 24, 1986)
First (& only) spacecraft to Neptune	Voyager 2(1989)
First European space probe landing on the surface of the Saturn's Moon, Titan	Huygens(January 15, 2005)
First Probe Mission to Pluto	New Horizons(January 19, 2006, USA)

First country to take photos from the surface of another planet

USSR(Venus)

First spacecraft to measure the atmosphere of another planet

Venera 4(1967)

First to land a spacecraft on another world

Venera 9(USSR, Venus, 1975)

First spacecraft to visit Mercury

Mariner 10(1974)

First spacecraft to enter the orbit of Mercury

MESSENGER(2011)

First spacecraft send by European Space Agency to Venus

Venus Express(2005)

First spacecraft to reach Jupiter

Pioneer 10(March 1972)

First spacecraft to reach Saturn

Pioneer 11(Sept. 1, 1979)

America's first Mission to Saturn

Cassini Spacecraft(July 1, 2004)

First (& only) spacecraft to Uranus

Voyager 2(January 24, 1986)

First (& only) spacecraft to Neptune

Voyager 2(1989)

First European space probe landing on the surface of the Saturn's Moon, Titan

Huygens(January 15, 2005)

First Probe Mission to Pluto

New Horizons(January 19, 2006, USA)

Country(4)

Item	Detail
Satellite NameYearUSExplorer I1958BritainAriel I1962FranceAsterix1965ChinaDong Fang Hong I1970IndiaAryabhatta1975First Country to launch Satellite into space	USSR
First Artificial Satellite in Space	Sputnik(USSR, 1957)
First Communication Satellite	Echo(USA, 1968)
First Country to launch 6G experimental Satellite	China (2020)*

Satellite NameYearUSExplorer I1958BritainAriel I1962FranceAsterix1965ChinaDong Fang Hong I1970IndiaAryabhatta1975First Country to launch Satellite into space

USSR

First Artificial Satellite in Space

Sputnik(USSR, 1957)

First Communication Satellite

Echo(USA, 1968)

First Country to launch 6G experimental Satellite*

China (2020)

* Time-sensitive data — verify for latest information

Moon(14)

Item	Detail
First Country to send Man to the Moon	U.S.A
First Man to land on the Moon	Neil A. Armstrong(followed by Edwin E. Adrin Jr.. July 21, 1969, USA)Spacecraft –Apollo-11
First Space Vehicle to Orbit the Moon	Luna-10(USSR)
First Country to launch a Space Rocket to the Moon	USSR
First Space Rocket to hit the Moon	Lunik II
First Unmanned Moon Buggy to explore Surface of the Moon	Lunokhod-1(USSR)
First Spaceship to take a sample of Moon's Crust	Surveyor-3(USA)
First Manned Spaceship to perform space flight around the moon	Apollo-8(USA)
First Manned Space Vehicle to Land on the Moon	Lunar Exploration Module(LEM, nickname - Eagle)
First Man buried on the Moon	Eugene M. Shoemaker(ashes of a famous geologist onboard Lunar Prospector when NASA deliberately crashed it on July 31, 1999)
First unmanned spaceship to have soft-landed and lifted off from the Moon to return to the Earth	Luna-16(September 21, 1970, USSR)
First Space Vehicle to soft-land on moon	Luna-9(USSR)
First Moon probe craft of European Space Agency	SMART-I
First Lunar Orbiter of China	Change-I(October 24, 2007)

First Country to send Man to the Moon

U.S.A

First Man to land on the Moon

Neil A. Armstrong(followed by Edwin E. Adrin Jr.. July 21, 1969, USA)Spacecraft –Apollo-11

First Space Vehicle to Orbit the Moon

Luna-10(USSR)

First Country to launch a Space Rocket to the Moon

USSR

First Space Rocket to hit the Moon

Lunik II

First Unmanned Moon Buggy to explore Surface of the Moon

Lunokhod-1(USSR)

First Spaceship to take a sample of Moon's Crust

Surveyor-3(USA)

First Manned Spaceship to perform space flight around the moon

Apollo-8(USA)

First Manned Space Vehicle to Land on the Moon

Lunar Exploration Module(LEM, nickname - Eagle)

First Man buried on the Moon

Eugene M. Shoemaker(ashes of a famous geologist onboard Lunar Prospector when NASA deliberately crashed it on July 31, 1999)

First unmanned spaceship to have soft-landed and lifted off from the Moon to return to the Earth

Luna-16(September 21, 1970, USSR)

First Space Vehicle to soft-land on moon

Luna-9(USSR)

First Moon probe craft of European Space Agency

SMART-I

First Lunar Orbiter of China

Change-I(October 24, 2007)

Launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, South-Western Sichuan Province(1)

Item	Detail
First-ever commercial lunar payload paid entirely in the cryptocurrency Dogecoin	DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon(Company: SpaceX)

First-ever commercial lunar payload paid entirely in the cryptocurrency Dogecoin

DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon(Company: SpaceX)

Mars(3)

Item	Detail
First spacecraft to touch down on Mars' surface	Viking-1(June 19, 1976, USA)
First Arab country to send a mission to Mars	UAE(July 19, 2020)*
Probe Name	Al Amal(Meaning Hope)

First spacecraft to touch down on Mars' surface

Viking-1(June 19, 1976, USA)

First Arab country to send a mission to Mars*

UAE(July 19, 2020)

Probe Name

Al Amal(Meaning Hope)

* Time-sensitive data — verify for latest information

Arab World's First Interplanetary Mission(1)

Item	Detail
First fully indigenious Mars mission of China	Tianwen-1(Meaning Questions to Heaven, July 23, 2020).NASA's Mars Roverof 2020–Perseverance*

First fully indigenious Mars mission of China*

Tianwen-1(Meaning Questions to Heaven, July 23, 2020).NASA's Mars Roverof 2020–Perseverance

* Time-sensitive data — verify for latest information

First Mars Rover of China –Zhu(2)

Item	Detail
Rong.📝SideNotes:NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration, US Space Agency
Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency	JAXA

Rong.📝SideNotes:NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, US Space Agency

Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency

JAXA

First in the World – Space Odyssey

Key Takeaway

Space Odyssey: First in the World(43)

Planets(13)

Country(4)

Moon(14)

Launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, South-Western Sichuan Province(1)

Mars(3)

Arab World's First Interplanetary Mission(1)

First Mars Rover of China –Zhu(2)

Continue Studying

List of Father of Various Fields

List of Father's of different fields (Science)

List of Father of Various Fields - Computer Science & Electronics

Oscar Awards

List of Father of Various Fields - Medicine

First Women Nobel Laureates