What was the event that started the space race?
the mercury mission
o the sputnik launch
the apollo program
the moon landing

It was in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik, world's first satellite into space.

B

Explanation:

It was the time when two major countries were facing each other in the cold war. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite into the space which was named as "Sputnik". This marked the historical event forever, encouraging other countries especially the then rivals; America to come up for the challenge in space.

The Sputnik launch triggered America to prepare a rocket to beat the Soviet Union and raise the flag of power in the world but unfortunately, failed and the former won the title to lead technology to the space. This was marked as the beginning of the space race.

d.summerains, the last one