Question

Match the event or nation with what it achieved during the early years of the space race.

Answer 1

1. Sputnik 2 was the ship that launched the first animal into space

It was a dog named Laika and was the overall second spacecraft that was sent by the Soviet Union into space. Unfortunately, the Dog died a few hours after he was sent into space, but it showed that humans could survive going into orbit. The launch happened in 1957 and was a space exploration pioneering flight.

2. Explorer 1 was the first American satellite 

It was launched in 1958 and was the third spacecraft to be sent to space following the Soviet's Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2. It didn't have a crew as it was a regular satellite like the Sputnik 1 was. The space race began after Explorer 1 launched since now two world powers had access to the cosmos and they started battling for the moon

3. Soviet Union launched the first woman into space

This woman was Valentina Tereshkova. She was a member of the first group of female cosmonauts in the Soviet Union and became the first woman to be in space. She later became an important figure in the Soviet Union and even offered to go to Mars first if the opportunity arises, counting on the fact that it would be a one way trip.

4. Luna 2 was the first moon probe

It was the first probe to reach the surface of the moon. Of course, it didn't get such big recognition from those who weren't scientists because there were no people on it. It landed on the moon and provided a lot of data because of the way it was built since the Soviets could learn how various compounds behaved in space.

5. John Glenn was the first American to go into space

He was a marine and later an astronaut and was the first American person to go into space where he orbited the earth and circled it three times. He launched using Mercury Seven where he had his crew in 1959 and later he worked for NASA and even became a United States senator at one point in time.

6. Vostok 1 sent the first man into space

This was the world famous Yuri Gagarin. Over a bit more than an hour and a half, he was in space and circled the earth once before he landed. He gained worldwide recognition because of  this and became a hero of the Soviet Union. He landed by ejecting himself some 7 kilometers above earth and using a parachute.