In 2012, James Cameron became the first person to complete a solo dive to the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in Earth’s seabed.

In 2012, Russian scientists successfully drilled and accessed Lake Vostok, a subglacial lake buried beneath 4 km of Antarctic ice, a major milestone in extreme environment exploration.

In 2004, Alexander Klimchouk and team explored the world’s deepest cave, Krubera Cave, reaching a depth of 2,197 meters below the surface.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission, a milestone in space exploration. Their achievement was watched by millions around the world and marked a triumph of science and engineering.

In 1966, an American expedition led by Nicholas Clinch made the first ascent of Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica at 4,892 meters.

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft, completing one orbit around Earth and launching the space age.

On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench aboard the Trieste, descending nearly 11,000 meters. It remains one of the most profound explorations of the ocean depths ever undertaken.

On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest (8,848 m), the world’s highest peak. Their success marked a historic moment in the history of mountaineering and exploration.

In 1931, Auguste Piccard ascended to the stratosphere in a pressurized gondola, reaching 15,781 meters and laying groundwork for future space exploration.

The Croisière Jaune was a trans-Asian motorized expedition from Beirut to Beijing, launched in 1931. It was led by Georges-Marie Haardt and Louis Audouin-Dubreuil, demonstrating the viability of half-track vehicles across deserts, mountains and vast terrains of Asia.

Organized by Citroën and led by Georges-Marie Haardt and Louis Audouin-Dubreuil, the Croisière Noire crossed Africa from north to south between 1924 and 1925. It was a pioneering motorized expedition combining exploration with ethnographic research.

In 1913, Hudson Stuck and team completed the first verified ascent of Denali, the highest peak in North America.

On December 14, 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's expedition became the first to reach the geographic South Pole. This achievement marked a significant milestone in polar exploration and highlighted meticulous planning and the use of skis and dog sleds.

In April 1909, Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole with Matthew Henson and four Inuit companions. Though contested, it was long considered the first successful North Pole expedition.

In 1909, an Australian expedition led by Douglas Mawson reached the South Magnetic Pole, expanding knowledge of Antarctic magnetism and geography.

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first powered, controlled, and sustained flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Between 1903 and 1906, Roald Amundsen successfully navigated the Northwest Passage, proving that a sea route through the Canadian Arctic archipelago was possible.

From 1860 to 1861, Robert O''Hara Burke and William John Wills led the first south-to-north crossing of the Australian continent, although the expedition ended in tragedy.

Between 1851 and 1873, David Livingstone explored southern Africa, including the discovery of Victoria Falls and major stretches of the Zambezi River.

From 1831 to 1836, Charles Darwin sailed aboard HMS Beagle around South America and the Pacific, conducting geological and biological research that later inspired his theory of evolution.