Editing Space Race (section)

== Men on the Moon, space stations, space shuttles (1969–1991) ==
The latter period of the space race began with the United States landing the first men on the Moon, and was followed by the Soviets operating the first space stations and putting the first robotic landers on Venus and Mars, the US space shuttles marking the first significant reusable space vehicles, and a cooling down of tensions with the first docking between a Soviet and American vessel.

=== First humans on the Moon ===
{{Main|Apollo 11}}

[[File:Apollo 11 Lunar Lander - 5927 NASA.jpg|thumb|"Buzz" Aldrin facing away from Camera, with the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander]]

Apollo 11 was prepared with the goal of a July landing in the [[Sea of Tranquility]], just half a year after the first crewed flight to the Moon.{{sfn|Parry|2009|pp=144–51}} The crew, selected in January 1969, consisted of commander (CDR) Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot (CMP) [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]], and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) [[Buzz Aldrin|Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin]].{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=138}} They trained for the mission until just before the launch day.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|pp=163–83}} On July 16, 1969, at 9:32&nbsp;am [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]], the Saturn V rocket, AS-506, lifted off from [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39]] in Florida.{{sfn|Parry|2009|pp=38–44}}

The trip to the Moon took just over three days.<ref>{{cite web
|last=Jones
|first=Eric M.
|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/Apollo11_Press-Kit_restored.pdf
|title=Apollo 11 Press Kit
|page=33
|work=Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
|date=January 1, 2010
|access-date=August 15, 2010
|archive-date=November 17, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015010/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/Apollo11_Press-Kit_restored.pdf
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> After achieving orbit, Armstrong and Aldrin transferred into the Lunar Module named ''[[Lunar Module Eagle|Eagle]]'', leaving Collins in the [[Apollo command and service module|Command and Service Module]] ''[[Command module Columbia|Columbia]]'', and began their descent. Despite the interruption of alarms from an overloaded [[Apollo Guidance Computer|computer]] caused by an antenna switch left in the wrong position, Armstrong took over manual flight control at about {{convert|180|m|ft|sp=us}} to correct a slight downrange guidance error, and set the ''Eagle'' down on a safe [[Tranquility Base|landing spot]] at 20:18:04 [[Universal Coordinated Time|UTC]], July 20, 1969 (3:17:04&nbsp;pm [[Central Time Zone#Central Daylight Time|CDT]]). Six hours later, at 02:56 UTC, July 21 (9:56&nbsp;pm CDT July 20), Armstrong left the ''Eagle'' to become the first human to set foot on the Moon.{{sfn|Murray|Cox|1990|p=356}}

{{listen
| filename     = Neil Armstrong small step.wav
| title        = Neil Armstrong's historic first words on the Moon.
| description  = "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
| format       = [[Ogg]]
}}

The first step was witnessed on live television by at least one-fifth of the population of Earth, or about 723 million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=spaceprogram|title=Space Program and television|publisher=The Museum of Broadcast Communications|last=Paterson|first=Chris|year=2010|access-date=August 11, 2010|archive-date=December 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204055730/http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=spaceprogram}}</ref> His first words when he stepped off the LM's landing footpad were, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."{{sfn|Murray|Cox|1990|p=356}} Aldrin joined him on the surface almost 20 minutes later.<ref>{{cite web
|last=Jones
|first=Eric M.
|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html
|title=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal
|page=MET 109:43:16
|work=Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
|date=January 1, 2010
|access-date=August 15, 2010
|archive-date=January 16, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116013417/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> Altogether, they spent just under two and one-quarter hours outside their craft.<ref>{{cite web
|last=Jones
|first=Eric M.
|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html
|title=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal
|work=Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
|date=January 1, 2010
|access-date=August 15, 2010
|archive-date=January 16, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116013417/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html
|url-status=dead
}} Mission elapsed time (MET) from when Armstrong states that he will step off the LM at 109hrs:24mins:13secs to when Armstrong was back inside the LM at 111hrs:38mins:38sec</ref> The next day, they performed the first crewed launch from another celestial body, and rendezvoused back with Collins in ''Columbia''.{{sfn|Parry|2009|pp=250–51}} But before they return ascended the Space Race came to a particular culmination.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/luna-15/in-depth| title=Missions: Luna 15| website=Solar System Exploration: NASA Science| access-date=18 March 2019| archive-date=10 April 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410114541/https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/luna-15/in-depth| url-status=dead}}</ref> A few days before Apollo 11 left Earth, the Soviet Union launched the [[Luna 15]] probe, entering lunar orbit just before Apollo 11 and eventually sharing it with Apollo 11. Aware of Luna 15, Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman was asked to use his goodwill contacts in the Soviet Union to prevent any collision. Subsequently, in one of the first instances of Soviet–American space communication the Soviet Union released Luna 15's flight plan to ensure it would not collide with Apollo 11, although its exact mission was not publicized.<ref name="audio">{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/recording-tracks-russias-moon-gatecrash-attempt-1730851.html| title=Recording tracks Russia's Moon gatecrash attempt| date=3 July 2009| newspaper=[[The Independent]]| location=London| last=Brown| first=Jonathan}}</ref> But as Apollo 11 was wrapping up surface activities, the Soviet mission command hastened Luna 15 and attempted its robotic [[sample-return mission]] before Apollo 11 would return. As Luna 15 descended just two hours before Apollo 11's launch and impacted at 15:50 UTC some hundred kilometers away from Apollo 11, British astronomers monitoring Luna 15 recorded the situation, with one commenting:“I say, this has really been drama of the highest order”.<ref name="a357">{{cite news | last=Horton | first=Alex | title=The Soviets crashed a spacecraft onto the moon | newspaper=Washington Post | date=2019-07-19 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/19/soviets-tried-beat-apollo-they-crashed-spacecraft-moon-instead/ | access-date=2024-07-17}}</ref>

[[File:Land on the Moon 7 21 1969-repair.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|A girl reading a newspaper quoting the famous phrase 'The Eagle has landed']]

Apollo 11 left lunar orbit and returned to Earth, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.{{sfn|Parry|2009|pp=252–62}} When the spacecraft splashed down, 2,982 days had passed since Kennedy's commitment to landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade; the mission was completed with 161 days to spare.{{sfn|Murray|Cox|1990|p=347}} With the safe completion of the Apollo 11 mission, the Americans won the race to the Moon.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|p=288}}

Armstrong and his crew became worldwide celebrities, feted with ticker-tape parades on August 13 in New York City and Chicago, attended by an estimated six million.<ref name="LADinner">{{cite web |title=Richard Nixon: Remarks at a Dinner in Los Angeles Honoring the Apollo 11 Astronauts |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts |website=The American Presidency Project |access-date=October 24, 2017 |date=August 13, 1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531303/the_evening_sun/|title=President Offers Toast to 'Three Brave Men'|newspaper=The Evening Sun|date=August 14, 1969|page=1|location=Baltimore, Maryland|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> That evening in Los Angeles they were honored at an official [[state dinner]] attended by members of Congress, 44 governors, the [[Chief Justice of the United States]], and ambassadors from 83 nations. The President and Vice president presented each astronaut with the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].<ref name="LADinner" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531557/the_honolulu_advertiser/|title=Astronauts Awed by the Acclaim|newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser|location=Honolulu, Hawaii|page=1|date=August 14, 1969|last1=Smith|first1=Merriman|agency=UPI|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The astronauts spoke before a [[joint session of the United States Congress|joint session of Congress]] on September 16, 1969.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35693 |title=The Apollo 11 Crew Members Appear Before a Joint Meeting of Congress|access-date=March 3, 2018 |publisher=United States House of Representatives}}</ref> This began a 38-day world tour to 22 foreign countries and included visits with the leaders of many countries.<ref name="Apollo 11 Crew Starts World Tour">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27494178/the_logan_daily_news/|title=Apollo 11 Crew Starts World Tour|agency=Associated Press|date=September 29, 1969|page=1|location=Logan, Ohio|newspaper=Logan Daily News|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

The public's reaction in the Soviet Union was mixed. The Soviet government limited the release of information about the lunar landing, which affected the reaction. A portion of the populace did not give it any attention, and another portion was angered by it.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/apollo-moon-khrushchev/ |title=The Moon Landing through Soviet Eyes: A Q&A with Sergei Khrushchev, son of former premier Nikita Khrushchev |magazine=Scientific American |date=July 16, 2009 |access-date=January 7, 2019 |last1=Das |first1=Saswato R. |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225085952/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/apollo-moon-khrushchev/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The first landing was followed by another, precision landing on [[Apollo 12]] in November 1969, within walking distance of the [[Surveyor 3]] spacecraft which landed on April 20, 1967.

In total the Apollo programme involved six crewed Moon landings from 1969 to 1972, and a total of twelve astronauts walked on the surface of the Moon. These were [[Apollo 11]], [[Apollo 12]], [[Apollo 14]], [[Apollo 15]], [[Apollo 16]], and [[Apollo 17]].

==== Post-Apollo NASA: Shifting goals and budget cuts ====
NASA had ambitious follow-on human spaceflight plans as it reached its lunar goal but soon discovered it had expended most of its political capital to do so.{{sfn|Hepplewhite|1999|p=186}} A victim of its own success, Apollo had achieved its first landing goal with enough spacecraft and Saturn V launchers left for a total of ten lunar landings through Apollo 20, conducting extended-duration missions and transporting the landing crews in [[Lunar Roving Vehicle]]s on the last five. NASA also planned an [[Apollo Applications Program]] (AAP) to develop a longer-duration Earth orbital workshop (later named ''[[Skylab]]'') from a spent [[S-IVB]] upper stage, to be constructed in orbit using several launches of the smaller [[Saturn IB]] launch vehicle.

In February 1969, President [[Richard M. Nixon]] convened a "[[National Space Council|space task group]]" to set recommendations for the future US civilian space program, headed by his vice president, [[Spiro T. Agnew]].{{sfn|Hepplewhite|1999|p=123}} Agnew was an enthusiastic proponent of NASA's follow-up plans for permanent [[space station]]s in Earth and lunar orbit, perhaps a base on the lunar surface, and the first human flight to Mars as early as 1986 or as late as 2000.{{sfn|Hepplewhite|1999|pp=136–50}} These would be serviced by an infrastructure of a reusable [[Space Transportation System]], including an Earth-to-orbit [[Space Shuttle]]. Nixon had a 'better sense' of the declining political support in Congress for new Apollo-style programs, which had disappeared with the achievement of the landing, and he intended to pursue détente with the USSR and China, which he hoped might ease Cold War tensions. He cut the spending proposal he sent to Congress to include funding for only the Space Shuttle, with perhaps an option to pursue the Earth orbital space station for the foreseeable future.{{sfn|Hepplewhite|1999|pp=150–77}}

AAP planners decided the Earth orbital workshop could be accomplished more efficiently by prefabricating it on the ground and launching it with a single Saturn V, which immediately eliminated Apollo 20. Budget cuts soon led NASA to cut Apollo 18 and 19 as well. [[Apollo 13]] had to abort its lunar landing in April 1970 due to an in-flight spacecraft failure but returned its crew safely to Earth. The Apollo program made its [[Apollo 17|final]] lunar landing in December 1972; the two unused Saturn Vs were used as outdoor visitor displays and allowed to deteriorate due to the effects of weathering.

The USSR continued trying to develop its N1 rocket, after two more launch failures in 1971 and 1972, finally canceling it in May 1974, without achieving a single successful uncrewed test flight.{{sfn|Portree|1995|p=5}}

=== Soviet Lunar sample return and robotic rovers ===

In late 1970 [[Luna 16]] was launched by the Soviet Union, and became the first uncrewed probe to return a sample from the Moon. This was followed by [[Luna 20]] and [[Luna 24]] in subsequent years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gurbir |date=2020-09-25 |title=Declassified Files. Luna 16 Mission. USSR's first robotic lunar sample return mission 24 Sep 1970 |url=https://astrotalkuk.org/luna-16/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=AstrotalkUK |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Luna 16 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-072A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref>

The Soviet Union was also able to successfully land the first robotic rover on the Moon in 1970, followed by another in 1973, with the [[Lunokhod programme|Lunokhod]] missions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-095A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref>

These missions demonstrated continued Soviet willingness to compete with the US in the space race despite having lost the manned Moon landing aspect of the space race.

=== Salyut and Skylab ===
[[File:Salyut-7kosmos1686mayakT-15.jpg|thumb|Salyut-7 with Kosmos1686 and Soyuz T-15 docked, truss extended, May 31, 1986]]
Having lost the race to the Moon, the USSR seemed to decide to concentrate on orbital space stations instead of pursuing a crewed lunar mission. During 1969 and 1970, they launched six more Soyuz flights after Soyuz 3 and then launched a series of six successful space stations (plus two failures to achieve orbit and one station rendered uninhabitable due to damage from explosion of the launcher's upper stage) on their [[Proton-K]] heavy-lift launcher in their [[Salyut programme|Salyut program]] designed by [[Kerim Kerimov]]. Each one weighed between {{convert|18500|and|19824|kg|lb}}, was {{convert|20|m|ft|sp=us}} long by {{convert|4|m|ft|sp=us}} in diameter, and had a habitable volume of {{convert|99|m3|ft3|sp=us}}. All of the Salyuts were presented to the public as non-military scientific laboratories, but three of them were covers for military [[Almaz]] reconnaissance stations: [[Salyut 2]] (failed),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/almaz_ops1.html |publisher=Russian Space Web |title=Salyut 2 |access-date=6 July 2012 }}</ref> [[Salyut 3]],<ref name="astrospies">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/astrospies/ |title=Astrospies |author=James Bamford |publisher=PBS Nova |access-date=6 July 2012}}</ref> and [[Salyut 5]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Almaz program |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/almaz.html |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=www.russianspaceweb.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The USSR begins enduring space station program |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/salyut1-origin.html |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=www.russianspaceweb.com}}</ref>
[[File:Skylab and Earth Limb - GPN-2000-001055.jpg|thumb|Skylab Orbital Workshop as photographed by the Skylab 4 CSM during the final fly-around by the CSM before returning home.]]
[[Salyut 1]], the first space station, was launched by the Soviets on April 19, 1971. Three days later, the [[Soyuz 10]] crew attempted to dock with it, but failed to achieve a secure enough connection to safely enter the station. The [[Soyuz 11]] crew of [[Vladislav Volkov]], [[Georgi Dobrovolski]] and [[Viktor Patsayev]] successfully docked on June 7, and completed a then record 22-day stay. The crew became the second in-flight space fatality during their reentry on June 30, when they were [[asphyxiated]] due to the spacecraft's cabin becoming depressurized, shortly after undocking.<ref>{{Cite web |title=descent-into-the-void |url=https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/descent-into-the-void.pdf |website=sma.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-30 |title=50 Years Ago: Remembering the Crew of Soyuz 11 - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-remembering-the-crew-of-soyuz-11/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |language=en-US}}</ref> The disaster was blamed on a faulty cabin pressure valve, that allowed the air to vent into space. The crew was not wearing pressure suits and had no chance of survival once the leak occurred.<ref name="part">{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4209/ch8-2.htm|title=The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project|access-date=20 October 2007|publisher=NASA|year=1974|quote=When the valve opened at a height of 168 kilometers, the gradual but steady loss of pressure was fatal to the crew within about 30 seconds.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823124845/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4209/ch8-2.htm |archive-date=23 August 2007}}</ref> To prevent a recurrence of the Soyuz 11 tragedy, Soviet engineers redesigned the Soyuz spacecraft and mandated that cosmonauts wear Sokol pressure suits during launch and landing, a requirement still in place today.<ref name=":6" />

The United States launched a single orbital workstation, ''[[Skylab]]'', on May 14, 1973. It was launched using a leftover Saturn-5 rocket from the Apollo programme.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2023-05-14 |title=50 Years Ago: The Launch of Skylab, America's First Space Station - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-the-launch-of-skylab-americas-first-space-station/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |language=en-US}}</ref> Skylab weighed {{convert|169950|lb|kg}}, was {{convert|58|ft|m|sp=us}} long by {{convert|21.7|ft|m|sp=us}} in diameter, and had a habitable volume of over {{convert|10000|ft3|m3|sp=us}}. ''Skylab'' was damaged during the ascent to orbit, losing one of its solar panels and a meteoroid thermal shield. Subsequent crewed missions repaired the station, and conducted valuable research. The third and final mission's crew, [[Skylab 4]], set a human endurance record (at the time) with 84 days in orbit when the mission ended on February 8, 1974. ''Skylab'' stayed in orbit another five years before reentering the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean and Western Australia on July 11, 1979.<ref name="lewis1984">{{cite book|title=The Voyages of Columbia: The First True Spaceship|publisher=Columbia University Press|last=Lewis|first=Richard S.|year=1984
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v0cG1SdLkP0C|isbn=0-231-05924-8|pages=80–82|via=Google Books}}</ref>

[[Salyut 4]] broke ''Skylab'''s occupation record at 92 days. [[Salyut 6]] and [[Salyut 7]] were second-generation stations designed for long duration, and were occupied for 683 and 816 days. [[Salyut 7]] improved upon earlier designs by allowing long-duration crewed missions and more complex experiments. These stations, with their expanded crew capacity and amenities for long term stay, carrying electric stoves, a refrigerator, and constant hot water.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salyut 7 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1982-033A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref>

=== Venus and Mars robotic landings ===

==== Venus landings ====
In 1970, the Soviet Union's [[Venera#Venera 7|Venera 7]] marked the first time a spacecraft was able to return data after landing on another planet.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Venera 7 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-060A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref> Venera 7 held a resistant [[thermometer]] and an aneroid [[barometer]] to measure the temperature and atmospheric pressure on the surface, the transmitted data showed 475 C at the surface, and a pressure of 92 bar.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venera 7, The First Craft to Make Controlled Landing on Another Planet And Send Data From its Surface |url=https://www.amusingplanet.com/2021/12/venera-7-first-craft-to-make-controlled.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.amusingplanet.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Venera 7 |url=http://weebau.com/satplan/venera%207.htm |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=weebau.com}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Plumbing the Atmosphere of Venus |url=http://mentallandscape.com/V_Lavochkin1.htm |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=mentallandscape.com}}</ref>

In 1975, [[Venera 9]] established an orbit around Venus and successfully returned the first photography of the surface of Venus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venera 9 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-050A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Venera 9 descent craft |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-050D |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref> [[Venera 10]] landed on Venus and followed with further photography shortly after.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venus - Venera 10 Lander |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/v10_lander_proc.html |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref>

NASA initiated the [[Pioneer Venus project]] in 1978, successfully deploying four small probes into the Venusian atmosphere on December 9, 1978. The probes confirmed that Venus has little if any magnetic field, and cameras detected lightning in the atmosphere. The last transmissions were received on October 8, 1992, as its decaying orbit no longer permitted communications. The spacecraft burned up the atmosphere soon after, ending a successful 14-year mission that was planned to last only eight months.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pioneer Venus 1 - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-venus-1/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=science.nasa.gov |date=December 21, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1981, [[Venera 13]] performed a successful soft-landing on Venus and marked the first probe to drill into the surface of another planet and take a sample.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Venera 13 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1981-106D |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Surface of Venus |url=https://pages.uoregon.edu/jschombe/ast121/lectures/surface_venus.html |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=pages.uoregon.edu}}</ref> Venera 13 also took an audio sample of the Venusian environment, marking another first.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drilling into the Surface of Venus |url=http://mentallandscape.com/V_Venera11.htm |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=mentallandscape.com}}</ref> Venera 13 returned the first color images of the surface of Venus, revealing an orange-brown flat bedrock surface covered with loose [[regolith]] and small flat thin angular rocks.<ref name=":4" /> [[Venera 14]], an identical spacecraft to Venera 13, was launched 5 days apart with a similar mission profile.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venera 14 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1981-110A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref>

In total ten Venera probes achieved a soft landing on the surface of Venus.

In 1984, the Soviet [[Vega program]]me began and ended with the launch of two crafts launched six days apart, [[Vega 1]] and [[Vega 2]]. Both crafts deployed a balloon in addition to a lander, marking a first in spaceflight.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vega 1 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1984-125A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vega 2 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1984-128A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=In Depth {{!}} Vega 2 |url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/vega-2/in-depth/ |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=NASA Solar System Exploration}}</ref>

The US never caught up or matched the Soviet efforts to explore the surface of Venus, but did claim the title of the first successful probe to have flown by the planet and had notable success with the Pioneer atmospheric probes.

==== Mars landings ====
[[File:PIA00572-MarsRock-BigJoe-19970228.jpg|thumb|Surface of Mars taken by Viking 1.<ref>{{Cite web |title=28. "Big Joe" Boulder |url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/winds/slide_28.html |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=www.lpi.usra.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Catalog Page for PIA00572 |url=https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00572 |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref>]]In 1971, the Soviet's [[Mars 2]] successfully established Mars orbit and attempted a soft landing but crashed, becoming the first man-made object to impact Mars. This was shortly followed by [[Mars 3]], a 358&nbsp;kg lander, which successfully landed but the lander only transmitted data for 14.5 seconds before losing contact.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mars 3 Lander |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1971-049F |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref>

In 1976, NASA followed suit, and put two successful landers on Mars. These were [[Viking 1]] and [[Viking 2]]. These landers were significantly larger than the Soviet Mars landers (Viking 1 was 3,527 kilograms). They were able to take the first photographs from the surface of Mars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=viking-1 |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-1/ |website=jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Viking 1 - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking-1/ |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=science.nasa.gov |date=December 6, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Viking 1 operated on the surface of Mars for around six years (On November 11, 1982, the Lander stopped operating after getting a faulty command) and Viking 2 for over three years (mission ended in early 1980). Both landers were equipped with a robotic sampler arm which successfully scooped up soil samples and tested them with instruments such as a [[Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry|Gas chromatography–mass spectrometer]]. The landers measured temperatures ranging from negative 86 degrees Celsius before dawn to negative 33 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. Both landers had issues obtaining accurate results from their [[seismometer]]s.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Viking 1 - Mars Missions - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-1/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=viking-2 |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking-2/ |website=science.nasa.gov|date=December 6, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Viking 2 - Mars Missions - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-2/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |language=en-US}}</ref>

Photographs from the landers and orbiters surpassed expectations in quality and quantity. The total exceeded 4,500 from the landers and 52,000 from the orbiters.

The Viking landers recorded atmospheric pressures ranging from below 7 millibars (0.0068 bars) to over 10 millibars (0.0108 bars) over the Martian year, leading to the conclusion that atmospheric pressure varies by 30 percent during the Martian year because carbon dioxide condenses and sublimes at the polar caps. Martian winds generally blow more slowly than expected, scientists had expected them to reach speeds of several hundred miles an hour from observing global dust storms, but neither lander recorded gusts over 120 kilometers (74 miles) an hour, and average velocities were considerably lower. Nevertheless, the orbiters observed more than a dozen small dust storms. The Viking landers detected [[nitrogen]] in the atmosphere for the first time, and that it was a significant component of the Martian atmosphere. There was speculation from the atmospheric analysis that the atmosphere of Mars used to be much denser.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Viking Mission to Mars |url=https://mars.nasa.gov/internal_resources/828/ |website=mars.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Winds of Mars: Aeolian Activity and Landforms |url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/winds/index.shtml |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=www.lpi.usra.edu}}</ref>

The Soviets did not match the Martian lander achievements of NASA, but did claim the title of the first lander.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Mark |date=2021-12-02 |title=50 years ago, a forgotten mission landed on Mars |url=https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/50-years-ago-a-forgotten-mission-landed-on-mars/ |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=Astronomy Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Apollo–Soyuz Test Project ===
{{Main|Apollo–Soyuz Test Project}}

[[File:ASTP handshake - cropped.jpg|thumb|American Stafford and Russian Leonov shake hands in space aboard the [[Apollo–Soyuz]] docking adapter.]]

In May 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Premier]] [[Leonid Brezhnev]] negotiated an easing of relations known as détente, creating a temporary "thaw" in the Cold War. The two nations planned a joint mission to dock the last US Apollo craft with a Soyuz, known as the [[Apollo-Soyuz Test Project]] (ASTP). To prepare, the US designed a docking module for the Apollo that was compatible with the Soviet docking system, which allowed any of their craft to dock with any other (e.g. Soyuz-to-Soyuz as well as Soyuz-to-Salyut). The module was also necessary as an airlock to allow the men to visit each other's craft, which had incompatible cabin atmospheres. The USSR used the [[Soyuz 16]] mission in December 1974 to test modifications of the Soyuz atmosphere and the docking adapter to prepare for ASTP.<ref name=clark>{{cite book|title=The Soviet Manned Space Program|url=https://archive.org/details/sovietmannedspac0000clar|url-access=registration|year=1988|isbn=0-517-56954-X|publisher=Orion Books, a division of Crown Publishers, Inc.|last=Clark|first=Phillip |location=New York}}</ref><ref name=newkirk>{{cite book|last=Newkirk |first=Dennis|title=Almanac of Soviet Manned Space Flight|year=1990|isbn=0-87201-848-2|publisher=Gulf Publishing Company|location=Houston, Texas}}</ref>

The joint mission began when [[Soyuz 19]] was first launched on July 15, 1975, at 12:20 [[UTC]], and the Apollo craft was launched with the docking module six and a half hours later. The two craft rendezvoused and docked on July 17 at 16:19 UTC. The three astronauts conducted joint experiments with the two cosmonauts, and the crew shook hands, exchanged gifts, and visited each other's craft.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4209/ch11-3.htm|title=The Partnership: A History of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project|author1=Edward Clinton Ezell|author2=Linda Neuman Ezell|year=1978|publisher=NASA|access-date=4 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524064713/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4209/ch11-3.htm|archive-date=May 24, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Space Shuttles ===
[[File:Soyuz, Space Shuttle, Buran comparison.svg|thumb|Soyuz, US Space Shuttle, and Energia-Buran]]
NASA achieved the first approach and landing test of its [[Space Shuttle orbiter]] on a [[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft|Boeing 747 carrier plane]] on August 12, 1977, and the [[STS-1|first orbital test flight]] of a complete, crewed Space Shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, an [[external tank|external fuel tank]], and two [[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters|solid rocket boosters]], on April 12, 1981. The designers underestimated the time and cost of refurbishment between flights, which reduced the cost benefit of its reusability. They also overestimated its safety: two of the fleet of five orbiters were lost in fatal flight accidents: one during launch, due to failure of a solid rocket booster seal; and one on reentry, due to launch damage of a wing heat shield. The Air Force was also supposed to use the Shuttle to launch its military payloads, but shunned it in favor of its expendable launchers after the first Shuttle loss. NASA ceased production of its Apollo spacecraft and Saturn IB launcher, and used the Shuttle as its orbital workhorse until [[STS-135|2011]], then [[Retirement of the Space Shuttle|retired]] it due to the safety concern. Originally, more than 150 flights over a 15-year operation were expected; actually, the Shuttles made 135 flights in the 30-year lifespan of the series.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Space Shuttle - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/space-shuttle/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Soviets interpreted the Shuttle as a military surveillance vehicle, and decided they had to develop their own shuttle, which they named [[Buran programme|Buran]], beginning in 1974. They copied the aerodynamic design of NASA's Shuttle orbiter, which they strapped to the side of their expendable, [[liquid rocket propellant#Hydrogen|liquid hydrogen-fueled]] [[Energia (rocket)|Energia launcher]]. The Buran could be fitted with four [[Saturn AL-31]] [[turbofan]] engines and a fuel tank in its payload bay, allowing it to make its own atmospheric test flights, which began in November 1985. Also unlike the US Shuttle, it could be flown pilotlessly and landed automatically. Energia-Buran made only one orbital test flight in November 1988, but US [[counterintelligence]] baited the Soviets with disinformation about the heat shield design, and it was not reusable for repeated flight.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18686550 |title=How the Soviet space shuttle fizzled|date=February 11, 2008|publisher=NBC News|access-date=January 8, 2023}}</ref> Buran was the largest and most expensive Soviet program in the history of the Space Race,<ref name="harvey">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmTz6Phf5WYC&pg=PA8 |title=The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program: 50 Years After Sputnik, New Frontiers |publisher=Springer |first=Brian |last=Harvey |year=2007 |page=8 |isbn=978-0-38-771356-4 |access-date=9 February 2016 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624065603/https://books.google.com/books?id=kmTz6Phf5WYC&pg=PA8 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was effectively canceled by the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, due to lack of funding. The Energia was also canceled at the same time, after only two flights.

=== First women in space ===
The first woman in space was from the Soviet Union, [[Valentina Tereshkova]]. NASA did not welcome female astronauts into its corps until 1978, when six female [[mission specialist]]s were recruited. This first class included scientist [[Sally Ride]], who became America's first woman in space on [[STS-7]] in June 1983. NASA included women mission specialists in the next four astronaut candidate classes, and admitted female pilots starting in 1990. [[Eileen Collins]] from this class became the first pilot to fly on Space Shuttle flight [[STS-63]] in February 1995, and the first female commander of a spaceflight on [[STS-93]] in July 1999.

The USSR admitted its first female test pilot as a cosmonaut, [[Svetlana Savitskaya]], in 1980. She became the first female to fly since Tereshkova, on [[Salyut 7]] in December 1981.

=== First modular space station ===
The USSR turned its space program to the development of the low Earth orbit modular space station ''[[Mir]]'' (''peace'' or ''world'') assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. At {{convert|129700|kg|lb}}, it held records for the largest spacecraft and the longest continuous human presence in space at 3,644 days, until the [[International Space Station]] was built starting in 1998.<ref name="Mirrecord">{{cite news|last=Jackman|first=Frank|title=ISS Passing Old Russian Mir In Crewed Time|url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2010/10/28/11.xml|newspaper=Aviation Week|date=29 October 2010}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ''Mir'''s operation continued after the 1991 replacement of the USSR's space program with the [[Russian Federal Space Agency]] until 2001, supported by Soyuz spacecraft.