NASA’s NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft became the first space probe to land on an asteroid when it touched down on 433 Eros.
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NASA's Mars Odyssey completed its 60,000th orbit around Mars.
Ariel 1, the first British-American satellite, was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US.
NASA's SMS-1 satellite launched from Cape Canaveral atop a Delta rocket.
The Soviet Union's Venera 3 space probe was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
NASA tested the Saturn I launch vehicle with a boilerplate Apollo spacecraft for the first time.
