From NASA to ISRO: Top space agencies in the world and their groundbreaking inventions
From NASA’s iconic Moon landing to ISRO’s Mars success and China’s rapid rise in space technology, several nations across the globe are pushing boundaries to redefine the future of space exploration. Curious to know who’s leading and what sets them apart? Let's take a closer look.
NASA - United States
NASA was founded in 1958 and is known for the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, which saw humans step on the Moon for the first time. NASA also made the Hubble Space Telescope (1990) and built the Space Shuttle, the first reusable spacecraft (1981). Their Mars Rover missions from Sojourner (1997) to Perseverance (2021) changed what we know about Mars.
ISRO - India
ISRO, created in 1969, launched India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975. In 2017, ISRO set a world record by launching 104 satellites into space simultaneously. India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (2014) made India the first Asian nation to reach Mars, and the only country to do so in its first attempt.
ESA - European Space Agency
ESA, formed in 1975, brings together 22 European countries. ESA is known for the Ariane rocket family (since 1979), the Rosetta probe, which landed on a comet in 2014, and the Mars Express orbiter (launched in 2003), which studies Mars from space. ESA is a major partner in the International Space Station project.
Roscosmos - Russia
Roscosmos and its Soviet predecessor put Sputnik 1, the world’s first satellite, into orbit on 4 October, 1957. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin from the USSR became the first human in space. Russia made the first long-term space stations, Salyut (1971) and Mir (1986).
CNSA - China National Space Administration
CNSA, started in 1993, made China the third country to send humans into space in 2003. They built and now operate the Tiangong space station. China’s Chang’e missions (since 2007) have landed on the Moon, and Tianwen-1 (2021) reached Mars with a rover.
JAXA - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
JAXA, born from a merger in 2003, is famous for its Hayabusa missions that brought back asteroid samples (first in 2010, then in 2020). JAXA’s Kibo lab is part of the ISS, and its weather and Earth-watching satellites help in disaster management.
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