Neil Armstrong, who would become the first human to walk on the Moon, was born on a farm near Wapakoneta, Ohio.

The Lowell Observatory announced that the newly discovered ninth planet would be named Pluto, a suggestion from an 11-year-old English schoolgirl named Venetia Burney.

USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, becomes the first vessel to reach the North Pole, cruising beneath the Arctic ice.

Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 5 returned to Earth carrying the dogs Belka and Strelka, the first animals to orbit Earth and survive.

President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous speech at Rice University, committing America to landing on the Moon before decade's end.

NASA launched Syncom 2, the first satellite placed in geosynchronous orbit, transforming global telecommunications and broadcasting.

Gemini 11 launched with Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon aboard, achieving a record altitude and a first tethered spacewalk maneuver.

The Concorde prototype broke the sound barrier for the first time, proving the Anglo-French jet could achieve sustained supersonic commercial flight.

The Soviet Union launched Venera 7, which would become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data after landing on another planet.

NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft performs a critical mid-course correction burn en route to Mars, refining its trajectory ahead of orbital insertion.

NASA launched Voyager 2 from Cape Canaveral, sending it on a grand tour past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

NASA launched Voyager 1 aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket, beginning a grand tour of the outer planets that would make it the most distant human-made object in space.

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, weeks after launch, photographed Earth and the Moon together in a single frame for the first time from deep space.

NASA announced its astronaut class of 1978, including Sally Ride, who five years later became the first American woman in space.

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, closing in on Jupiter, transmits striking new images revealing details of the planet's turbulent atmosphere and moons.

NASA's Voyager 2 probe, deep in its historic approach to Neptune, beamed back increasingly detailed images as it prepared for its closest flyby later that month.

NASA's Voyager 2 probe closed in on Neptune, beaming back the sharpest images yet seen of the solar system's outermost giant planet just days before its historic flyby.

NASA's Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, becoming the only spacecraft ever to visit the ice giant and revealing its Great Dark Spot and rings.

NASA's Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, the only spacecraft ever to visit the solar system's farthest major planet.

NASA's Voyager 2 probe made its closest approach to Neptune, the last planet on its grand tour, revealing the Great Dark Spot and the moon Triton's icy geysers.

NASA's Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, the only spacecraft ever to visit the giant blue planet, revealing its Great Dark Spot and moon Triton.

NASA's Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, the only spacecraft ever to visit the giant blue planet, revealing its Great Dark Spot and moon Triton.

Cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station conducted a lengthy spacewalk to repair exterior damage, part of the ongoing effort to keep the aging Russian outpost operational.

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope announced the discovery of two new moons orbiting Pluto, later named Nix and Hydra.