In 1944, a German aerospace engineer along with his team invented first long-range ballistic missile for Nazi Germany but it was built by concentration camp prisoners under brutal conditions, laying the foundation for both the American and Soviet space programsIn 1944, a German aerospace engineer along with his research team invented the first long-range ballistic missile secretly for Nazi Germany...
05 Sep, 2026, 03.02 AM IST
In 1947, the military sent fruit flies 67 miles into space to test radiation risks. 11 years later, NASA was founded in 1958, with animal flights underway in America now1947 mission was part of a larger American effort to understand whether living organisms could survive the journey into space. Beginning in...
03 Sep, 2026, 08.59 PM IST
In 1990, the USSR sent six Japanese tree frogs to the Mir space station for an eight-day experiment, where researchers watched them float with all four legs stretched out and their bodies bent backward - then found the frogs improved their ability to land after jumping in microgravitySix Japanese tree frogs journeyed to the Soviet space station Mir in 1990. They spent eight days in microgravity, which allowed researchers...
03 Sep, 2026, 11.56 AM IST
NASA sent a 77-year-old payload specialist back into space in 1998, 36 years after he became the first American to orbit Earth - not just to make history again, but to study how an older human body responds to microgravity, becoming the oldest person ever to fly in spaceJohn Glenn returned to space aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1998. He became the oldest person to travel into space at age seventy-seven. N...
01 Sep, 2026, 01.35 PM IST
In 1987, Bion 8 carried monkeys Yerosha and Dryoma for 13 days; Yerosha escaped part of his restraints before the capsule landed 1,850 miles off targetThe Soviet Bion program studied weightlessness effects using rhesus macaques. Bion 8 launched in 1987 with two monkeys, Yerosha and Dryoma....
31 Aug, 2026, 07.40 PM IST
In 1960, NASA launched rhesus monkey Miss Sam to test Mercury's escape system, and she reached 1,800 mph and 9 miles, then returned in overall good conditionMiss Sam, a rhesus monkey, played a pivotal role in NASA's launch escape system testing, demonstrating the system's ability to safely eject...
31 Aug, 2026, 06.30 PM IST
In 1984, a 33-year-old NASA astronaut stepped outside challenger. She became the first American woman to walk in spaceKathryn Sullivan etched her name in history in 1984 when she became the first American woman to walk in space during her pivotal Challenger...
29 Aug, 2026, 11.24 PM IST
In 1951, Soviet space dog Bobik escaped before launch; scientists found a stray near the canteen, named her ZIB, and sent her 100 km up before a safe returnA stray dog known as ZIB unexpectedly filled in for a canine that went missing just before a Soviet rocket launch. With no training at all,...
29 Aug, 2026, 07.00 PM IST
In 1952, Patricia and Mike rode an Aerobee 36 miles up at 2,000 mph; both monkeys returned safely after scientists compared seated and prone acceleration effectsIn 1952, two Philippine monkeys named Patricia and Mike embarked on a historic journey aboard a rocket. Scientists sought to understand how...
29 Aug, 2026, 06.50 PM IST
In 1951, Yorick the monkey and 11 mice rode an Aerobee rocket to 236,000 feet; the flight showed animals could survive launch and landing, though Yorick died after touchdownIn 1951, a rhesus monkey named Yorick embarked on a groundbreaking mission aboard a rocket, soaring nearly forty-five miles above the New M...
29 Aug, 2026, 06.40 PM IST
In 1961, NASA sent Ham the chimpanzee 157 miles above Earth to test whether a primate could work in space; he completed a 16-minute flight and returned safelyChimpanzee Ham made history in 1961 when he soared into space aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket. His mission aimed to assess the capabilitie...
28 Aug, 2026, 01.30 PM IST
In 1968, two Russian steppe tortoises travelled around the Moon before humans did. They survived a punishing 20G force while returning to EarthIn a remarkable journey, two Russian steppe tortoises embarked on a mission aboard Zond 5, orbiting the Moon in September 1968. This pionee...
26 Aug, 2026, 10.37 PM IST
NASA sent 3 aluminum LEGO figures on a 1.7 billion mile journey; by 2016, the figurines of 2 Roman gods and 1 famous scientist had become the fastest and farthest-traveling toys in history. Still orbiting Jupiter, they now face a fiery fateNASA's ambitious Juno mission made history by sending three aluminum LEGO figures to Jupiter, marking them as the fastest LEGO items ever c...
26 Aug, 2026, 11.40 AM IST
In 1963, France sent a stray cat 154 km into space; Félicette survived the flight, was euthanized for research, and honoured with a bronze statueIn 1963, France sent stray cat Félicette 154 km into space, making her the first and only cat to travel beyond Earth. She survived the flig...
24 Aug, 2026, 05.42 PM IST
In 1968, two Afghan tortoises who beat humans to the Moon lost 10% of their weight - They flew around the moon on Soviet Zond 5 and returned alive 3 months before Apollo 8In September 1968, two tortoises made history as the first animals to orbit the Moon and safely return to Earth aboard the Soviet Zond 5 sp...
24 Aug, 2026, 01.36 PM IST
Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave's hidden plumbing system allows rainwater to reach underground quickly through sinkholes, but these water routes can also carry sewage, chemicals and other pollutants into the caveKentucky’s Mammoth Cave has a vast underground water network fed by rainwater entering sinkholes and cracks in the limestone. The same rapi...
24 Aug, 2026, 12.06 PM IST
A Latvian astronomer and his wife drove 190 miles to a secret Soviet ghost town in 1994; found a 600-ton telescope the Russians had poured acid on - adapted the Cold War machine built to spy on the West and listen to the starsAfter the retreat of Russian forces from Latvia, a concealed Soviet-era radio telescope came to light. Astronomer Juris Zhagars dedicated h...
16 Aug, 2026, 02.16 PM IST