20 August, 1975 – Viking 1 was launched by NASA

NASA launched Viking 1, using a Titan launch vehicle. It became the first space probe to successfully land on Mars.

21 August, 1911 – The Mona Lisa was stolen

The famed Leonardo da Vinci painting was stolen by a Louvre employee. It was recovered two years later in Italy.

22 August, 1851 – The first America’s Cup is held

Thought to be the oldest international sporting trophy to be still awarded today the cup’s name was changed from Hundred Guinea Cup to America’s Cup after the name of the yacht that won the first race.

23 August, 1966 – First photograph of the Earth taken from the Orbit of the Moon

NASA’s Lunar Orbiter 1 was the first American unmanned spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Its primary task was to scope out landing sites on the Moon for future space crafts.

24 August, 2006 – Pluto is declassified as a Planet

The IAU declassified Pluto as a planet and classified it as a dwarf planet. Discovered in 1930, Pluto is the largest but second-most massive dwarf planet in our solar system.

25 August, 1835 – First installment of the Great Moon Hoax is published

The New York-based newspaper The Sun published a series of articles, starting on this day, which detailed the discovery of civilisation on the Moon.

26 August, 1768 – James Cook sails off on HMS Endeavour

The British explorer was the first European in recorded history to have visited the eastern shores of Australia. The ship reached Botany Bay in April 1770 and was back on British shores on July 12, 1771.