Across
- 2. A Soviet cosmonaut who became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963, completing 48 orbits of Earth.
- 4. A Chinese lunar mission that achieved the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon on January 3, 2019. This was a significant technological feat as the far side is difficult to reach and communicate with.
- 6. A planned collaboration between NASA and ESA for the early 2030s. The goal is to bring back rock and soil samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars for scientific analysis on Earth.
- 9. China's planned Mars sample-return mission for the early 2030s. This mission demonstrates China's growing ambition in space exploration and its aim to compete with the U.S. and European agencies.
- 13. Launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), this mission successfully entered Mars's orbit on September 24, 2014. It made India the first Asian nation to reach Mars and the first country in the world to do so on its first attempt.
- 15. NASA's historic mission that landed the first humans on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first two people to walk on the lunar surface.
- 16. A private U.S. aerospace company founded by Elon Musk that has become a major player in space exploration. It's known for developing reusable rockets, which have drastically lowered the cost of space travel.
- 17. A NASA mission planned for a 2028 launch that will send a drone-like rotorcraft to Saturn's moon Titan to explore its unique, rich organic environment and search for signs of life.
- 18. A planned space station in lunar orbit that will serve as a hub for both crewed and uncrewed missions to the Moon's surface and potentially to Mars. It's a key part of the Artemis program.
- 20. A European Space Agency mission that includes a rover, the Rosalind Franklin, scheduled to launch to Mars in 2028. Its primary goal is to search for signs of life on the planet.
Down
- 1. A collaborative project between five space agencies: NASA (U.S.), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). It has been continuously occupied since November 2, 2000, serving as an orbiting research laboratory and a symbol of international cooperation.
- 3. NASA's ambitious program aiming to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there. It's a multi-mission initiative with key partnerships with ESA, JAXA, and CSA.
- 5. A large space telescope launched in 1990 by NASA that has provided groundbreaking images and data of the cosmos, revolutionizing our understanding of astronomy and the universe.
- 7. Launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1 was the world's first artificial satellite. Its launch marked the beginning of the Space Age and the start of the Cold War Space Race.
- 8. A Soviet cosmonaut who, on April 12, 1961, became the first human to journey into outer space, completing one orbit of the Earth aboard his Vostok 1 spacecraft.
- 10. The first uncrewed test flight of the Artemis program, which successfully launched and orbited the Moon in late 2022. It tested the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
- 11. The first interplanetary mission from the Arab world, launched by the United Arab Emirates in 2020. It successfully entered Mars's orbit in February 2021 to study the Martian atmosphere.
- 12. A U.S. private company that is building the first commercial modules for the International Space Station and plans to eventually build and operate its own private space station.
- 14. A developing industry focused on extracting valuable resources like metals and minerals from near-Earth asteroids. Water ice found on asteroids could also be used for rocket fuel, making deep-space travel more sustainable.
- 19. A future mission planned for 2027 to land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface. It will be the first crewed landing on the Moon since 1972.