This space race image provides a general timeline of the major progressions on both the US and USSR sides throughout the space race. The names of these missions are given, along with general details about the overall events and success regarding individual missions.
This image is a piece of United States propaganda meant to gain public support for the space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The United States and Soviet Union were competing for technological superiority and when the USSR launched Sputnik, the U.S. founded NASA and became determined to win the race to the moon.
This Soviet propaganda poster reads "Our triumph in space is the hymn to Soviet country!". The Soviets started the race to space and also created propaganda for their missions. This propaganda piece creates the image of a superior Soviet Union (to the United States).
Above is a picture of the first satellite ever successfully launched to orbit the Earth. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I on October 4, 1957 beginning the space race between the United States and Soviet Union as this launch opened up the door to a new era of advanced technology and possibilities through space.
Yuri Gagarin is credited with being the first man in space. He was a part of the operation led by the Soviet Union, manning the Vostok 1, and was sent to orbit the Earth on April 12, 1961. This event was the next major trademark of the space race between the U.S. and USSR. Gagarin was commemorated as an "international hero" and gained the respect of everyone, including the United States team of astronauts to first land on the moon, leaving a commemorative medallion upon their departure from the moon.
Above is astronaut John Glenn entering the space craft named the Friendship 7. John Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962. This achievement brought the united States back up to level with the Soviet Union who, up to this point, was advancing more rapidly. The success of this launch reinforced NASA's confidence and paved way for all further space mission they later completed.
Above is one of the first photos taken of another planet from space. The Mariner 4 Mars flyby mission was a massive success for the United States. The Mars photos were taken on July 15, 1965, during Mariner 4s closest distance to Mars. This mission provided information that assisted in future mission regarding Earth's neighbor Mars as well as advanced the U.S. ahead of the USSR.
Neil Armstrong is historically known as the first man to walk on the Earth's moon. As a part of the Apollo 11 mission run by the United States, the module known as Eagle landed on the moon July 20, 1969, where it sat for multiple hours before Neil Armstrong and Edward "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. proceeded to step onto the moon. The success of this mission was nothing short of a milestone and had completed just what President Kennedy had set for the nation to achieve in 1961.
The image above is of the Salyut 1, the first space station in history which was sent into space April 19, 1971 by the Soviet Union. Three cosmonauts (Russian equivalent to astronaut) were sent into space two days later to assemble and live in the space station for 30 days but were unable to dock and returned. Three more cosmonauts were successfully sent to the space station but on June 29 the three cosmonauts departed the Salyut 1 to return to Earth but were killed due to complications on their ship the Soyuz 11. No more missions were made to the Salyut 1 and it was crashed into the Pacific Ocean on October 11, 1971.
This is a picture of the two teams, one from the U.S. and the other from the Soviet Union, that were apart of the mission that ended the space race in July 1975. These teams were part of the Apollo-Soyuz mission where a U.S. and a Soviet ship was launched into Earth's orbit and docked together to exchange gifts, medals, and share a meal. The mission was televised and marked the end of the space race between the US and USSR and the beginning of joint cooperation for further exploration.
This is the one of the first major missions following the ending of the space race with a picture of Jupiter's rings. The space craft Voyager 1 was the first to take pictures of jupiter's rings, which were unknown to scientists before the pictures were taken on March 5, 1979. The Voyager 1 was sent out along with the Voyager 2 by NASA in 1977 to fly by and take pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. This mission was hugely successful giving scientists new information and images that they did not have before. Another major discovery this mission accounted for was the discovery of the first known active volcanoes on another body in space, which were on one of Jupiter's 'moons', Io.