In 1054, Chinese and other astronomers saw a supernova, a violently exploding star that was visible in daylight for 23 days and at night for almost 2 years. It is believed the Crab Nebula in the constellation Taurus is the remanant of this supernova. Rock paintings in North America suggest that Indians in Arizona and New Mexico saw it. There are no European records of the event.

In 1687, an early experience of a tropical revolving storm was made by Captain William Dampier, whose ship survived what he called a "tuffoon" off the coast of China. In New Voyage Round the World, (1697) Dampier wrote that this violent whirlwind storm had a calm central eye, and its winds moved from opposite directions as the storm moved passed. This was one of the earliest known European descriptions of a typhoon, which also presented a new understanding that storms somehow move, rather than remain stationary. During his ocean travels, he kept a detailed journal, noting native cultures, and made careful descriptions of natural history which in effect made him an early contributor to scientific exploration.

In 1998, Japan launched Nozomi ("Hope") from Kagoshima Launch Centre, to become the third nation (after Russia and the U.S.) to reach for Mars. The spacecraft made two fly-bys of the Moon in Sep and Dec in order to reshape its trajectory for an intended arrival in a highly elliptical Mars Orbit in Oct 1999. Unfortunately, the attempt failed, and the plans were changed to alter the spacecraft's trajectory to reach Mars in 2003. The mission was designed to measure the interaction between the solar wind and Martian upper atmosphere.

In 1997, the Mars Pathfinder, an unmanned space vehicle, reached the Martain atmosphere. It had taken seven months to travel there since its launch on 4 Dec 1996. Its main science mission was to study the Martian atmosphere and investigate the geology and chemical composition of the planet's rocks and soils. The descent was braked by a heat shield, a parachute and rockets. Using a new NASA effort for "cheaper, faster, better," the Mars Pathfinder used airbags to cushion its landing on the surface. It carried Sojourner, a 10-kg (22-lb) wheeled rover device designed to travel slowly across the surface of Mars taking photographs and collect other scientific data, while also testing autonomous-vehicle technology on the Martain terrain.

In 1968, the Explorer 38, an unmanned U.S. spacecraft was launched to measure galactic radio sources and study low frequencies in space. It was one of a series of 55 scientific satellites launched between 1958-75.