For many centuries, man's curiosity about space and everything that is found in its interior has always been great. When observing the sky, especially at night, it is possible to see with the naked eye some stars, stars etc. This motivated humanity to study and research the puzzles arising from the universe.
With the technological and science development, some countries dedicated several years of research and billions of dollars with the purpose of knowing parts of the universe through space travel.
In this sense, the forerunners of this segment were the United States and the Soviet Union, the main world powers at the time, called the bipolar world.
This political factor triggered the space race, which corresponds to the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union to present to humanity unprecedented facts related to space issues.
The first direct space exploration began on October 4, 1957, on that date the Soviet Union sent an artificial satellite called Sputnik. The rocket was launched from a Russian base located in Kazakhstan.
In the month following the first launch, the USSR sent a new satellite called Sputnik II, which carried a dog named Laika, this fact has gone down in history, as it was the first living being to enter space, it is good to emphasize that this animal has never returned to Earth.
The first man to enter space was Yuri Gagarin, who was able to observe the Earth from the outside and saw with the naked eye the bluish hue of our planet, this trip began on April 12, 1961.
Eight years after the first human being traveled to space, one of the main episodes developed by humanity took place. On July 20, 1969, Apollo XI was launched towards the Moon, astronauts Neil Armstrong on board the spacecraft, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin Jr. This time the man was not content to just travel into space, he went further, landed on the surface lunar; the crew had the opportunity to step on the “ground” of another celestial body, our natural satellite, the Moon.
After man stepped on the lunar surface for the first time, 6 new Apollo missions took place, thus, another twelve astronauts had the privilege of stepping on the Moon.
Brazil also created a satellite, which was sent into space in February 1993, by means of a space rocket of North American origin entitled Pegasus. On March 29, 2006, the first space trip by a Brazilian took place, using the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-8. Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes is a lieutenant colonel in the Brazilian Air Force. The ship in which the Brazilian was on board departed from Kazakhstan.
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By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
Curiosities - geography - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FRANCISCO, Wagner de Cerqueira and. "Conquest of Space"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/conquista-do-espaco2.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.