India’s Aryabhata satellite launches

The landing was a milestone in human exploration of the solar system; the first steps took place later in UTC on 21 July.

The spacecraft became the first human-made object to orbit another planet.

Engine firing slowed Mariner 9 enough for capture by Martian gravity.

The new orbit enabled prolonged planetary study, although a global dust storm initially limited surface views.

Mariner 9 showed how staying in orbit could reveal much more than a single passing encounter.

Aryabhata began a new phase in India’s scientific and engineering space work.

The launch from Kapustin Yar illustrates international cooperation in the early Indian space program.

The spacecraft took its name from the mathematician and astronomer whose work was studied in the earlier astronomy batch.

Despite its number, Voyager 2 departed before Voyager 1, beginning its journey to the outer planets.

Voyager 2 took a path that would later permit encounters with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.