Astronomy

NASA launched Stardust to collect dust samples from comet Wild 2 and return the dust samples back to Earth.

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth (February 20, 1962), again was launched into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery.  He participated in

The Cosmic Background Explorer was launched from Vandenberg, California.  The purpose of this mission was to study the cosmic microwave background.

NASA launched the Echo-1 satellite, the first-ever communications satellite from Cape Canaveral.

The Pioneer 1 became the first spacecraft sent into orbit by NASA.  It returned data on the near-Earth space environment before it re-entered the Earth’s

The Viking 1 spacecraft consisted of an orbiter and a lander.  The lander from Viking 1 was the first spacecraft to land on Mars.

Mariner 9 reached Mars and became the first spacecraft from Earth to orbit another planet.  The main mission was to take images of the planet

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA.  President Eisenhower called the legislation a “historic step” that would further equip

The United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon, but the probe missed its target by more than 22,000 miles.

The Venera 7, a Soviet spacecraft entered the atmosphere of Venus and landed on the surface. The spacecraft sent back signals before completely breaking down