NASA

Some of the key events about NASA

• 1958

  NASA was officially established as a civilian space agency by the United States government
• 1961

  Project Mercury successfully launched the first American into space
• 1962

  The Mariner 2 spacecraft completed the first successful interplanetary flyby of Venus
• 1967

  Apollo 1 fire killed three astronauts during a launch pad test
• 1969

  Apollo 11 mission achieved the first manned lunar landing, marking humanity's first steps on another celestial body
• 1970

  Apollo 13 mission suffered a near-catastrophic oxygen tank explosion in space
• 1971

  The Mariner 9 spacecraft became the first to orbit another planet, Mars
• 1977

  The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched, beginning their ongoing mission to explore the outer solar system
• 1981

  The Space Shuttle program began with the launch of Columbia, introducing reusable spacecraft technology
• 1986

  Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members
• 1990

  The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed, revolutionizing our view of the universe
• 1997

  The Mars Pathfinder successfully landed on Mars, deploying the first rover on the planet's surface
• 1999

  Mars Climate Orbiter was lost due to a metric-to-imperial unit conversion error
• 2003

  Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry, resulting in the deaths of all seven astronauts
• 2005

  NASA grounded the entire Space Shuttle fleet for over two years due to safety concerns
• 2009

  Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite failed to reach orbit and was destroyed
• 2011

  NASA's Space Shuttle program ended, leaving the U.S. without independent human spaceflight capability
• 2013

  International Space Station suffered an ammonia coolant leak, requiring emergency spacewalks
• 2020

  The Mars 2020 mission launched, including the Perseverance rover and the first-ever Mars helicopter, Ingenuity
• 2021

  James Webb Space Telescope launch was delayed multiple times, significantly increasing project costs

Disclaimer: This material is written based on information taken from open sources, including Wikipedia, news media, podcasts, and other public sources.