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