On May 25, 1961, in a bold speech delivered before a special joint session of the United States Congress, President John F. Kennedy issued a challenge that would define a generation and redirect the trajectory of American science, industry, and global prestige. Speaking just…
Read MoreOn April 24, 1990, a Space Shuttle Discovery mission designated STS-31 changed the course of modern astronomy. From low Earth orbit, it deployed one of the most ambitious scientific instruments ever built: the Hubble Space Telescope. Decades in the making and plagued by delays…
Read MoreOn April 17, 2014, NASA announced a milestone in the search for life beyond Earth: the confirmation of Kepler-186f, the first Earth-size planet discovered orbiting within the habitable zone of another star. This groundbreaking discovery was made possible by the Kepler Space Telescope, a…
Read MoreIn the 1960s, the United States and Russia were in a space race and NASA launched the Gemini program to bridge the work between the Mercury and Apollo programs. The goal of the program was to test equipment and mission procedures in Earth’s orbit…
Read MoreOn February 1, 2003, the world watched in shock as the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, tragically killing all seven astronauts aboard. The disaster occurred just 16 minutes before the shuttle was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center, marking…
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