July 29, 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act signed U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the act creating NASA and establishing a civilian national space agency. October 1, 1958 NASA begins operations NASA formally starts operations, absorbing NACA and several military and civilian research programs. April 9, 1959 Mercury Seven introduced NASA presents the seven astronauts selected for Project Mercury, its first human spaceflight program. May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard makes first American spaceflight Freedom 7 carries Alan Shepard on a suborbital mission, making him the first American in space. May 25, 1961 Moon goal announced President John F. Kennedy asks Congress to support landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth before the decade ends. February 20, 1962 John Glenn orbits Earth Friendship 7 makes John Glenn the first American to orbit Earth. March 23, 1965 Gemini 3 launches Gemini 3 becomes the first crewed mission of the Gemini program, which tested techniques needed for Apollo. August 10, 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 photographs Earth from lunar orbit NASA's Lunar Orbiter 1 returns the first photograph of Earth seen from the vicinity of the Moon. January 27, 1967 Apollo 1 fire A cabin fire during a ground test kills astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, forcing major safety changes. December 24, 1968 Apollo 8 circles the Moon Apollo 8 becomes the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon. July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 lands on the Moon Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the Moon while Michael Collins remains in lunar orbit. April 17, 1970 Apollo 13 returns safely After an in-flight explosion, Apollo 13 returns to Earth without a lunar landing. July 30, 1971 Apollo 15 begins lunar rover era Apollo 15 carries the first Lunar Roving Vehicle used on the Moon. May 14, 1973 Skylab launched NASA launches Skylab, the first U.S. space station. July 17, 1975 Apollo-Soyuz docking American and Soviet spacecraft dock in orbit in a landmark Cold War cooperation mission. April 12, 1981 First space shuttle mission Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-1, opening the reusable shuttle era. January 28, 1986 Challenger disaster Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart shortly after launch, killing all seven crew members. April 24, 1990 Hubble Space Telescope launched Discovery deploys the Hubble Space Telescope, which becomes one of the most important observatories in history. November 20, 1998 International Space Station assembly begins Zarya, the first ISS module, launches and begins construction of the orbital laboratory. August 6, 2012 Curiosity lands on Mars The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity lands in Gale Crater. May 30, 2020 Crew Dragon restores U.S. crew launches SpaceX Demo-2 carries astronauts to the ISS, beginning a new operational partnership era for NASA human spaceflight.