This Week In Space History (12/28 - 01/03)

This Week in Space History: From First Steps to Other Worlds

Welcome to our weekly look back at the milestones that shaped our journey into the cosmos. This week, spanning December 28th to January 3rd, marks several "firsts"—including the first time a human-made object escaped Earth's gravity and the arrival of a legendary robotic explorer on the surface of Mars.

December 28, 1999: Hubble’s New Brain

In late December 1999, the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-103) was wrapping up a critical servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. On December 28, the crew was performing final checks after successfully replacing the telescope’s aging computer with a new, much more powerful flight computer.

This mission was urgent; all of Hubble's gyroscopes had failed, putting the telescope in "safe mode." Thanks to the work of the STS-103 crew, Hubble was restored to full health just in time for the new millennium.

January 2, 1959: Breaking Free (Luna 1)

For the first time in history, humanity threw something hard enough to escape the "well" of Earth's gravity. The Soviet Union launched Luna 1, a spherical probe bristling with antennas.

While its original mission was to impact the Moon, a timing error in the upper stage caused it to miss its target by about 3,700 miles. However, this "failure" turned into a massive success: Luna 1 became the first human-made object to reach heliocentric orbit, effectively becoming the first "artificial planet" orbiting the Sun.

> Did you know? On January 3, while en route, Luna 1 released a cloud of sodium gas. This created a glowing orange "artificial comet" visible from Earth, allowing astronomers to track the spacecraft’s path.

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January 2, 2004: Stardust’s Close Encounter

Forty-five years to the day after Luna 1 launched, NASA’s Stardust mission made history in deep space. It flew within 150 miles of the nucleus of Comet Wild 2.

Stardust used a unique material called aerogel (often called "solid smoke") to capture dust particles from the comet's tail without destroying them. These samples were later returned to Earth in 2006, providing scientists with the first-ever samples of a comet's "building blocks" from beyond the Moon.

January 3, 2004: A Spirit Lands on Mars

Just one day after Stardust met its comet, a different kind of explorer reached its destination. NASA’s Spirit Rover (MER-A) touched down in Gusev Crater on Mars.

Using a complex system of parachutes and giant airbags, Spirit bounced dozens of times on the Martian surface before coming to a rest. Though originally designed for a 90-day mission, Spirit defied all expectations and continued to explore and transmit data for over six years, fundamentally changing our understanding of the Red Planet’s watery past.