Planetary science gains a close view of Venus

Radio signals from Sputnik could be received outside the launch program, making the orbit publicly observable.

The successful launch created a new platform for studying Earth and, later, the wider universe.

The spacecraft became the first successful interplanetary probe to visit another planet.

Mariner 2 measured properties of the planet while passing it without entering orbit.

Mariner 2 showed that interplanetary spacecraft could return measurements from distant worlds.

Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel in space.

The Vostok 6 mission began from Soviet Central Asia and went on to orbit Earth 48 times.

Tereshkova’s launch showed a woman could perform an orbital spaceflight despite earlier exclusion.

The spacecraft put Tereshkova in Earth orbit for a mission lasting nearly three days.

The satellites recorded the first known cosmic gamma-ray burst; its extraterrestrial source was recognized later.