The Soviet Union beat the US to this, with the October 4, 1957 orbiting of Sputnik 1, and later beat the US to the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. The race peaked with the July 20, 1969 US landing of the first humans on the Moon with Apollo 11.
The definition of a luminary is an object giving off light, or a personality that is well known or enlightening to mankind. An example of a luminary is a candle.
In biology, a lumen (from Latin lÅ«men, meaning an opening; plural lumina) is the inside space of a tubular structure, such as an artery or intestine.By extension, the term lumen is also used to describe the inside space of a cellular component or structure, such as the endoplasmic reticulum.n biology, a lumen (from Latin lÅ«men, meaning an opening; plural lumina) is the inside space of a tubular structure, such as an artery or intestine.