Humans have been obsessed with the world outside the Earth’s surface near and far for as long as life has been present on Earth. This obsession has only multiplied since the first space mission was successful or when man walked on the moon for the first time ever. The world has hundreds of successful missions under its belt, along with failed space missions, in equal numbers. However, one thing common in all these missions is the hard work of their scientists, the engineers, and the ground staff who worked for years to build the vehicles in which these missions are carried off. Here are ten of the most famous space crafts that helped create history! 

Galileo 

The first spacecraft in this list is Galileo, which is named after Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer. The aircraft was an unscrewed spacecraft that included an entry probe and an orbiter by Space Shuttle Atlantis delivered it into Earth’s orbit in 1989 on October 18. It studied Jupiter, its many moons along with other celestial bodies in our solar system. It was the first spacecraft the orbited Jupiter and observed Comet Shoemaker-Levy collide with the planet in 1994. However, in 2003, after almost 14 years, NASA destroyed the spacecraft deliberately by flying it into the Jovian atmosphere. 

Voyager 1

On September 5, 1977, NASA launched a space probe that was a part of the Voyager space program with objectives including a detailed study of the outer part of the solar system as well as planets Jupiter and Saturn. Launched 16 days after its twin, Voyager 1 was the first aircraft that reached the interstellar space in 2012, 35 years since its launch. Images that were sent back by Voyager 1 are still being used in school textbooks and newspapers. The original plan of NASA was to send 4 probes but due to budgetary issues, they launched only Voyager 1 and 2. 

Rosetta 

Built by ESA (European Space Agency), Rosetta, a space probe, was launched on March 2, 2004, along with its lander module named Philae. It conducted a comprehensive study of comet 67P. On its journey to the comet, the space probe also performed detailed studies on Earth, Asteroids 21 Lutetia, 2867 Steins, and Mars. It was part of the ESA’s Horizon 2000 programme, launched after SOHO I Cluster and XMM Newton. It reached the comet in August 2014 and the lander Philae landed on the comet, which was the first successful landing of its kind. The mission ended on September 30, 2016, after losing communication with Philae back in July. 

Parker Solar Probe

Launched in 2018, Parker Solar Probe is probably one of the most renowned space missions, which even has the most cynic scientists excited. It is after all the first space mission that is going to get up and close with our home star. The mission’s main scientific goal is to make observations about the outer corona of the star. This project by NASA was announced in 2009 with a budget of 1.5 billion US dollars. This is the first space mission that is named after a living person, Eugene Parker. The spacecraft also carried 1.1 million people virtually. As of 29 October 2018, the probe is the closest man-made object to the Sun. 

Hubble Space Telescope

Named after astronomer Edwin Hubble, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched above the rainy clouds and pollution layer on April 24, 1990. It has an unobscured view of the universe and has discovered distant stars and galaxies beyond our own. Built by NASA, the telescope was launched into Earth’s orbit. It was not only the largest but the most versatile space mission that completes 15 orbits a day above the Earth’s surface. It has been in service for over 30 years and has helped several space missions, captured Uranus’s blue hue, and has snapped several never seen before images of nebulas.

Mar’s Express

Mars Express was the first successful planetary space mission by the European Space Agency. The ‘Express’ in the name describes the speed and efficiency of the spacecraft as well as its short interplanetary voyage. The spacecraft is divided into two parts – the Mars Express Orbiters and Beagle 2 (its lander), which were designed to perform geochemistry and exobiology research. Launched in June 2003, it has been almost 17 years since the mission elapsed. While the mission is scheduled to end in 2020, it is most likely to get an extension till 2022. 

SpaceX Dragon

Dragon 1 or SpaceX Dragon is a cargo spacecraft built by SpaceX, a private space transportation American company that is also reusable. It has been used to resupply the ISS and was launched into orbit during Falcon 9’s launch. Dragon 1 became the first commercial spacecraft that was recovered successfully from earth’s orbit. The spacecraft can carry 7 astronauts from earth to orbit and back as well as private passengers.

International Space Station (ISS)

A modular space station or a habitable artificial satellite, ISS is stationed in the low Earth orbit. This programme was a multi-national collaboration between 5 space agencies – NASA, JAXA, ESA, CSA, and Roscosmos. It is a microgravity research laboratory where scientists perform all kinds of scientific experiments from fields like astronomy, astrobiology, physics, and meteorology. It is the biggest artificial object in the space, which is often visible to the naked eye from the planet’s surface. The spacecraft was manufactured in pieces in America, Russia, Canada, Japan, and Europe and the process of assembly started in November 1998. 

Apollo 11

Project Apollo ran from the year 1961 to 1972. The mission was dedicated to US President Kennedy whose goal was to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth. Apollo 11 is the same spacecraft that took Neil Armstrong along with his 2 other crew members to the moon and back in July 1969. The spacecraft had three modules – the command module, the service module, and the lunar module. Its launch was broadcasted live on TV to millions of people and led to the end of the war between the USSR and the US.

Vostok 1

The first spaceflight of the Vostok programme, Vostok 1 was the first manned spaceflight in human history. It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in 1961 on 12th April. The spacecraft carried cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to enter into the outer space. The spacecraft was built by USSR and was designed by Sergei Korolev. Just like Apollo 11, the launch of Vostok 1 was broadcasted on Soviet radio.