Space exploration firsts

Neil Armstrong about to take the first step on the moon; the first human step on an extraterrestrial object

First reusable spacecraft: The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, April 12, 1981 (NASA)

First permanently manned space station, Mir, which orbited the Earth from 1986 until 2001

The International Space Station (ISS), the first internationally built and owned permanently manned space station