August 10

Magellan's fleet set sail westward in search of a direct route to the Spice Islands, traversing the Atlantic and discovering the strait that now bears his name. The expedition endured brutal storms, scurvy outbreaks, and long periods of uncertainty in the vast Pacific Ocean. Magellan was killed in a skirmish in the Philippines, but command passed to Juan Sebastián Elcano. Under Elcano's leadership, the remaining vessel completed the first circumnavigation of the globe in 1522. This monumental achievement demonstrated the true scale of the planet and inaugurated a new era of global maritime exploration.

After a ten-month journey from Earth, the Magellan spacecraft entered orbit around Venus on August 10, 1990. Equipped with a powerful radar imaging system, Magellan would penetrate the planet's dense clouds to reveal its hidden landscape. Over the next four years, it generated detailed maps covering more than 98 percent of Venus’s surface. Scientists uncovered evidence of volcanic plains, massive coronae, and tectonic features previously unseen. The mission provided key insights into Venusian geology and atmospheric dynamics. Magellan’s data challenged existing theories about planetary evolution and resurfacing processes. The probe’s success cemented radar mapping as a vital tool for exploring our neighboring worlds and advanced our understanding of terrestrial planets.

On August 10, 2001, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off on mission STS-105 from Kennedy Space Center, heading to the International Space Station. The shuttle delivered the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with supplies, equipment, and experiments. Discovery carried three astronauts of Expedition 3, who took over station operations from the Expedition 2 crew. During the 11-day mission, the crew conducted spacewalks to install new hardware and perform maintenance tasks. The mission also tested new docking procedures and examined the station's systems under expanded crew capacity. Discovery safely returned to Earth on August 22, 2001, landing at Edwards Air Force Base, concluding a successful handover that supported continuous human presence in orbit.