Space exploration began in the 20th century with the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957 by the Soviet Union. This event marked the beginning of the Space Race between the USA and the Soviet Union. The first manned spaceflight was made by Yuri Gagarin in 1961, becoming the first human to orbit the Earth. The Apollo program by NASA successfully landed astronauts on the moon in 1969, with Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to set foot on the lunar surface. The Space Shuttle program revolutionized space travel with reusable spacecraft in the 1980s. In recent years, private companies like SpaceX have entered the space industry, focusing on reducing the cost of space travel and exploring Mars. Space exploration has led to the development of GPS, weather forecasting, and satellite communications. The International Space Station (ISS) has been continuously occupied since 2000, serving as a platform for scientific research and international cooperation in space exploration. The future of space exploration includes missions to Mars, commercial space tourism, and the possibility of finding life beyond Earth.