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Microgravity experiments

Astronauts working on the International Space Station (ISS) orbiting Earth perform various experiments in the weightless environment of space.

Growing plants

Astronauts traveling to Mars will need to grow their own food, so seeds and plants are being tested.

Staying healthy

An astronaut uses equipment that tests for biological and Chemical substances on the ISS.

Radiation studies

A dummy astronaut is used to check the !evel of radiation that astronauts experience when out in space.

Growing crystals

The ISS has three laboratories—here in the Kibo lab, a crystal-growing experiment is monitored.

Body experiments

Living in space affects the human body; astronauts routinely monitor their health and fitness.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Morę than 9,000

U.S. students ^enter®^d _r oompetition to namean^⁸ that will goto Marsi o₀rt A 12-year-old g^ffl suggested the winnmg name, Curiosity.

Planet explorers ■ J™^-

Moon explorers

Countries and regions that have sent spacecraft to the Moon:

U.S.A. RUSSIA EUROPE JAPAN CHINA INDIA

Here are the most recent spacecraft to have explored each planet. Both Uranus and Neptune have been visited by only one spacecraft:

Mercury—Messenger

Venus—Magellan

Mars—Mars Express

Jupiter—Galileo

Saturn—Cassini

Uranus—Voyager 2

Neptune—Yoyager 2

1959

Luna 1 is the first spacecraft to travel away from Earth

1962

Telstar transmits the first live TV images and telephone calls through space

1962

Mariner 2 flies by Venus; the first spacecraft to fly by another planet

1970

Lunokhod 1 lands on the Moon—it is the first rover to drive across another planet

1970

Venera 7 sends the first signals from the surface of Venus

1971

Salyut 1 becomes the first space station to orbit Earth

1971

Mariner 9 orbits Mars to become the first spacecraft to orbit another planet

1995

Galileo releases a probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere, the first into a giant planefs atmosphere

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