Description
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) as the U.S.
government agency most responsible for advancing flight-related technology.
Established on October 1, 1958, with the passage of the National Aeronautics
and Space Act, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 29, 1958, NASA
added the development of space technology to the NACA's aeronautics mission.
Significance
The most significant NASA achievement during its early years
involved the human exploration of the Moon. Project Apollo became a NASA
priority on May 25 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced, "I
believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before
this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to
Earth." Kennedy used Apollo as a high-profile effort for the United States
to demonstrate its scientific and technological superiority over the Soviet
Union, its cold war adversary.
In October 1968, the first successful Apollo mission, Apollo
7, orbited Earth and tested the redesigned Apollo command module. Apollo 8 was
the first satellite to orbit the Moon. But it was Neil Armstrong's step onto
the Moon's surface on July 20, 1969, that fulfilled President Kennedy's
challenge. Armstrong's words: "That's one small step for [a] man, one
giant leap for mankind" are imprinted on the memories of most Americans
who were alive at the time. After taking soil samples, photographs, planting
the American flag, and leaving behind a plaque marking their visit, Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin rendezvoused with their colleague Michael Collins in lunar
orbit for a safe return to Earth.