Space Exploration Timeline

Name:

Date:

📚 Part 1: Multiple Choice & Matching

WALT: Trace key milestones in space exploration and match events to their dates.

1. Who used a telescope around 1609 to observe Jupiter’s moons and helped change our view of the solar system?

Galileo Galilei

Nicolaus Copernicus

Isaac Newton

2. Which event marks the beginning of the Space Race?

Apollo 11 Moon landing

Sputnik satellite launch (1957)

Hubble Space Telescope launch

3. Who was the first human to travel into space?

Neil Armstrong

Yuri Gagarin

Valentina Tereshkova

4. Which mission first landed humans on the Moon?

Apollo 11

Apollo 13

Vostok 1

5. Match each event (left) with the correct year or period (right). Draw lines between columns.

A. Early astronomy (ancient stargazers)

B. Galileo's telescope observations

C. Sputnik launch

D. Yuri Gagarin orbits Earth

E. Apollo 11 Moon landing

F. International Space Station begins

1. 1609

2. 1957

3. 1961

4. 1969

5. 2000+

6. Ancient (many centuries ago)

✏️ Part 2: Short Answers & Creative

WALT: Identify significant figures and explain why key milestones matter.

6. In 2–3 sentences, explain how the Space Race (1950s–1960s) helped accelerate advances in space exploration and technology.

7. Choose one figure or mission from the timeline (e.g., Galileo, Yuri Gagarin, Apollo 11, Mars rovers). Write 2–3 sentences explaining why this person or mission is important.

8. Put these events in chronological order by writing numbers 1–6 beside each (1 = earliest):

_____ Ancient stargazers

_____ Galileo's telescope observations (~1609)

_____ Sputnik satellite launch (1957)

_____ Yuri Gagarin first human in space (1961)

_____ Apollo 11 Moon landing (1969)

_____ International Space Station (2000+)

9. Creative task: Design a short idea for a future space mission. Sketch the spacecraft or goal below and write one sentence describing its main purpose.

10. Extension (for advanced learners): Research and write one New Zealand connection to space (for example, a local company, a scientist, or Māori knowledge of the stars) or a lesser-known contributor to space science. Write two sentences.