1975
July
The United States and the Soviet Union team up to launch the first
international manned space mission. The mission goes under the name of the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
August
The U.S. launches "Viking I", a space probe bound for Mars. "Viking
I" landed on Mars in July, 1976 and remained there for over six years. The
unmanned probe transmitted pictures of the planet's surface and conducted
research.
1977
August
The Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker "Arktika" reaches the North Pole and
becomes the first surface ship to break through the Arctic ice pack to the top
of the world.
1978
April
Fending off attacks by polar bears, Japanese explorer Naomi Uemura
becomes the first man to reach the North Pole alone by way of dog sled. Uemura
traveled 600 miles over a period of 54 days.
1981
April
The United States launches the space shuttle "Columbia", the first
re-usable manned spacecraft.
1982
April
British explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Charles Burton reach the North
Pole and establish themselves as the first party to circle the earth from pole
to pole. The two had reached the South Pole sixteen months earlier. The entire
expedition took three years and cost an estimated $18 million.
1983
June
Sally Ride, one of the crew of the space shuttle "Challenger",
becomes the first U.S. woman in space.
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