This Day in History: <br />NASA Is Created July 29, 1958 The National Aeronautics and <br />Space Administration (NASA) was <br />created as a means of keeping up with the <br />space program of the former Soviet Union. The Soviet launch of the <br />Sputnik satellites had <br />surprised and embarrassed <br />the United States. Americans were on edge <br />that the Soviets would <br />soon be capable of <br />launching nuclear weapons. President John F. Kennedy <br />announced the U.S. intention <br />of landing a man on the moon <br />by the end of the 1960s. NASA spearheaded the <br />monumental task, and <br />achieved that goal <br />on July 20, 1969. NASA continues to push <br />the edge of space exploration, <br />landing rovers on Mars <br />in the past decade.
