Progress
How far have we come?
Humanity has been leaving Earth for less than seventy years. Here is the road so far — and the question we are tracking next.
The road so far
1957
Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, reaches orbit.
1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space.
1969
Apollo 11 lands the first people on the Moon.
1971
Salyut 1, the first space station, is launched.
1981
The Space Shuttle flies, the first crewed spacecraft built to be reused.
1998
The first module of the International Space Station is launched.
2000
People begin living in orbit without a break.
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since November 2000.
2015
An orbital-class rocket booster lands upright for the first time.
2020
A commercially owned spacecraft carries astronauts to orbit.
2024
A commercial lander touches down on the Moon.
Now
Gateway PPE & HALO: target widened from 2027 to sometime in the 2020s
A recent change in our record, from the past seven days of launch-schedule captures. More in The Current.
The question we’re tracking
Can we build a Moon base?
Twelve people walked on the Moon between 1969 and 1972; none stayed. A permanent base depends on ten capabilities — transport, power, habitats, life support, communications, robotics, local resources, mobility, manufacturing and medicine — and on how they depend on each other.
Explore the question