NASA Celebrates its 50 years of Space Exploration

Fifty years ago, on July 29, 1958, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the basis of NASA - National Agency for Space Exploration - by signing the National Aeronautics and Space Act. Since then, NASA has become a leader in space exploration, marking history with unforgettable moments, such as the first human presence on the Moon.

The neverending competition for space exploration with the Soviet Union broke all technology boundaries, achieving remarkable discoveries and nourishing the race to demonstrate technological superiority in space.

NASA currently has over 19,000 employees and a budget of $100 million annually, as well as multiple facilities. The agency has taken unprecedented steps in exploring enigmatic places in our Solar System, and has made some remarkable discoveries through its robotic missions.

In the 1960s, NASA managed to achieve what President John F. Kennedy had wished for: to land a man on the Moon and return it safely back to Earth. The Apollo program marked the 1960s, ending in the successful landing on the lunar surface, on the Sea of Tranquility, of the first astronauts.

Unfortunately, since 1969, no man has ever reached the moon, but NASA expects things to change within the next decade.

The Ronald Reagan period established the premises for what we know today as the International Space Station, which became a symbol of international cooperation for the benefit of mankind. The Soviet Union, Japan, Europe and others have all sent astronauts and research equipment on the ISS.

We can expect to see even more progress within the next few decades, when NASA hopes to establish a permanent base on the Moon, and even send a human mission to Mars, which has been only visited by robotic missions so far.

Over the years, NASA has expanded the boundaries of human and technological possibilities, and the quest for space knowledge will continue in the future as well.

Source: EFlux Media