October 4, 1957: a little 83.6 kg (184 lb) object entered the microgravity environment of Low Earth Orbit. With this unprecedented achievement, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics became the first nation to place an artificial satellite into orbit. Now 60 years after the inauguration of the Space Age, SpaceX has plans to establish a human settlement on Mars within the next decade – plans that are ambitious and carry numerous technical challenges that harken back to how the Space Age first began.
