July 29, 1958
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing NASA as a civilian space agency in response to the Space Race with the Soviet Union. The agency officially began operations on October 1, 1958.
November 20, 1998
The Zarya module, first component of the International Space Station, was launched on November 20, 1998, marking a historic collaboration between Russia and the United States in space exploration.
November 23, 2020
China's Chang'e 5 spacecraft launched on a historic lunar sample-return mission, marking the country's first attempt to bring moon rocks back to Earth since the 1970s. The mission successfully collected and returned approximately 2 kg of lunar samples.
