Humans started visiting outer space during the Cold War era in the 1950s, when the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the "space race." This competition aimed to show technological and scientific superiority. The Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, into Earth orbit in 1957, marking the beginning of human space exploration. Shortly after, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin from the Soviet Union became the first human to orbit Earth in space. In response, the United States accelerated its space program, leading to the creation of NASA in 1958 and later achieving the first American human spaceflight with Alan Shepard in 1961. The space race expanded into collaborations post-Cold War, helping advance global space exploration.