1971: Launch of the Mariner 9 probe by NASA. By becoming the first spacecraft to enter orbit around another planet in November 1971, Mariner 9 revolutionised our vision of Mars. Despite a giant dust storm upon its arrival, it mapped practically the entire Martian surface (over 80% in high resolution), discovering monumental structures such as the Valles Marineris canyon system and the giant volcano Olympus Mons, proving that Mars had a fascinating geological and hydrological history.

1975: Signing of the convention creating the European Space Agency (ESA) during a diplomatic conference in Paris. Born from the merger of ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) and ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation), ESA became the body for scientific, technological, and operational space cooperation in Europe. This milestone marked the beginning of major successes such as the Ariane launcher family, missions to comets (Giotto, Rosetta), and the exploration of Jupiter with JUICE.