Humans and space

Humans find the Universe fascinating.

The Ancient Greeks named planets and constellations after their gods. For the Egyptians, the symbol of their pharaoh’s power was the Sun.

Thanks to the invention of the telescope, we have discovered new planets. We have also been able to explain certain phenomena, such as comets and shooting stars. This changed the ideas many people had about the Solar System.

1) Who named celestial bodies after their gods?

The first artificial satellite went into space in the 20th century. It was called Sputnik and started orbiting the Earth. Some years later, the first living being went into space. It was a dog named Laika. The first human in space was Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and the first woman was Valentina Tereshkova. It was the Americans, however, on Apollo 11 who first walked on the Moon. As the astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon, he said ‘This is a small step for a man but a great leap for mankind’.

a) The Ancient Greeks b) The Egyptians c) The Europeans a) The light bulb b) The telescope c) The spaceship a) A dog b) A human c) A monkey a) Yuri Gagarin b) Valentina Tereshkova c) Neil Armstrong

2) What invention helped scientists learn more about the Solar System?

3) What was the first living being to travel to space?

4) Who was the first person on the Moon?

2 Write a sentence explaining who or what the following names refer to: Laika, Valentina Tereshkova, Apolo 11.