History in making: Moon missions and the firsts landmarks achieved
Photo by David Dibert on Unsplash Humans have a close connection to the moon, the only natural satellite our Earth has, culturally, socially and astronomically. Exploring the moon has been a key point in history and there have been over 140 missions, with different mission types, launched so far. Of that, however, only six moon missions have successfully landed humans on the celestial body, including the famous Apollo 11 mission of July 1969. The week went by celebrating the recent achievement of the Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) with its Chandrayaan-3 mission , with a focus on its historic landing near the south pole of the moon . On this occasion, here are a few firsts of the moon missions with landmark achievements. Pioneering the missions The lunar orbiter Pioneer 0. Photo: Wikimedia Commons The very first attempt to reach the moon, or at least go near the celestial body was made on August 17, 1958, by the United States Air Force (USAF). Pioneer 0 was i...