In the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a big race to explore space. This was called the Space Race. Both countries wanted to be the first to do amazing things like sending a person to the Moon.

Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, made history on April 12, 1961, when he became the first human to travel into space. He orbited the Earth in his spacecraft, Vostok 1. This was a huge achievement for the Soviet Union and a significant moment in the Space Race.

On July 20, 1969, three American astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, landed on the Moon traveling in the Apolo 11.

Neil Armstrong became the first person to ever set foot on the Moon. He said his famous sentence: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Buzz Aldrin joined him. Michael Collins piloted the command module, orbiting the Moon while the two other astronauts explored its surface.