NASA History Office

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50 years ago today, the United States was just days away from the beginning of a 5+ year hiatus in sending astronauts to space, the longest in NASA's history. How was the U.S. crew for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project spending their last precious hours in orbit? With science! 🔬…

Views from the surface of Mars: 49 years ago ↙️ and last week ↘️ The Viking 1 Lander made the first truly successful landing on Mars #OTD in 1976, capturing the first ever image from on the Martian surface (left image). Today, the search for clues about ancient microbial life…

One of the most inspiring moments in human history NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong’s words echoed across the world #OTD in 1969 as he became the first person to set foot on the surface of the Moon. The culmination of years of united effort, the Apollo 11 Moon landing remains a…

The Gemini X mission completed one of its primary goals #OTD in 1966 when it docked with the Agena target vehicle in space. Docking was one of the essential components required for the success of NASA's Apollo missions to the Moon. The following day, astronaut Michael Collins…

“Your flight is a momentous event” President Gerald Ford spoke to the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project astronauts in space during a call from the Oval Office on July 17, 1975. It was 6 years—almost to the day—after President Nixon had talked to the Apollo 11 astronauts on the Moon.

Astronaut John Glenn has a special place in the history of U.S. spaceflight as the first American to orbit the planet in 1962. We celebrate his contributions today on the 104th anniversary of his birth. go.nasa.gov/463HEXE

Contact! After more than 3 years of careful planning and preparation, the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft met in space 50 years ago #OTD for an unprecedented event: docking together in orbit. For 2 days, the two ships remained docked for joint activities. go.nasa.gov/45TKZsd

Deke Slayton reached space for the first time 16 years after being selected as one of NASA’s first 7 astronauts. In 1962, Slayton was grounded due to a heart condition. Ten years later, he was restored to flight status and assigned to fly on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. 📷…

Today marks 50 years since the final launch of NASA’s Apollo spacecraft! We celebrate the countless men and women whose work took humanity to unimagined heights. #OTD in 1975, three U.S. astronauts launched into orbit for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, paving the way for future…

Pluto's moment to shine! 10 years ago today, after travelling more than 3 billion miles, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto, passing within 7,800 miles of its surface, and providing humanity with the first close-up images of this distant world.…

A "boring" story about the space shuttle During the Memorial Day weekend in 1995, not long before the scheduled launch of the Discovery orbiter on the STS-70 mission, one or more Northern Flickers at @NASAKennedy pecked dozens of holes into the foam insulation covering the…

"I personally feel that if we had not gone the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) [route], we'd never have gone to the Moon." –Dr. Robert Seamans The LOR strategy held a pivotal role in achieving the Moon landing in 1969, but it might not have been used if engineer named John C.…

50 years ago, the three NASA astronauts preparing to fly on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project—Deke Slayton, Tom Stafford, and Vance Brand—were gearing up for their launch. During their three-week preflight quarantine, they continued simulations, training, and other preparations.