2015 Event NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detects liquid water on Mars in the form of hydrated salts; the minerals are found along flow lines on steep slopes and tend to appear during 'warm' weather (above 10 degrees F , -23 degrees C) 2015 Event NASA is isolating a six-person team for a year within a small dome in Hawaii in order to simulate theoretical conditions of a Mars mission; the team will have no fresh air or fresh food, and a spacesuit must be worn when exiting the dome 2015 Event NASA's New Horizons probe reestablishes contact to transmit the first close photos of Pluto and its moons; the probe launched in 2006 and has traveled over 3 billion miles; it will continue transmitting data for the next 16 months 2015 Event NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft ends its three-year orbit around Mercury with a planned crash into the planet's surface; originally, the probe was to orbit and collect data for one year, but fuel saving efforts extended its mission for two more years 2014 Event The NASA Mars rover Curiosity has returned images from the red planet's Gale Crater showing evidence of sediment deposits, suggesting that lakes and rivers potentially existed across the planet millions of years ago 2014 Event NASA awakens its New Horizons craft from hibernation for the last time; the vessel was launched 9 years ago to travel over 3 billion miles to Pluto and will be within range to begin data collection on the planet in January 2015 2014 Event NASA successfully tests its unmanned Orion spaceship for potential human flight over 3,500 miles from Earth; several years and more tests will be needed before the vessel is ready for human travel, potentially paving the way for manned trips to Mars 2014 Event NASA Mars probe MAVEN is on track to enter the planet's orbit after a 10-month journey; the probe will collect data for a year on the upper Martian atmosphere to potentially answer questions about climate change on the planet 2014 Event NASA outsources its role in space travel by awarding a $4.2 billion contract to Boeing and a $2.6 billion contract to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to shuttle astronauts between Earth and the International Space Station 2014 Event NASA announces that its Kepler space telescope has discovered 715 planets in other solar systems, bringing the instrument's new-planet tally to 961; four of the latest discoveries are thought to have an orbit favorable to habitation, but the distance of these planets makes exploration impossible with current technology 2014 Event Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Opportunity rover landing on Mars; NASA announces the rover has discovered clay minerals indicating water flowed on Mars early in the planet's history 2014 Event U.S. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden and John Holdren, White House Science Advisor, announce that President Obama's administration approved extending the use of the International Space Station through 2024 2013 Event A series of spacewalks are made by two NASA astronauts in an effort to fix the faulty coolant pump on the International Space Station 2013 Event NASA completes a launch of the MAVEN, whose mission is to study Mars atmosphere in depth' the data from the MAVEN will help researchers construct a history of the climate on Mars and should help them understand how the water on Mars disappeared 2013 Event NASA discovers Asteroid 2013 TV135, which has a 1 in 63,000 chance of colliding with the earth in 2032 2013 Event NASA's Voyager 1 space probe makes history by advancing past the solar system - becoming the first man-made object to reach interstellar space 2013 Event NASA's New Horizons team releases the first high resolution view of Pluto's largest moon; Charon, which is as large as the state of Texas, is covered in ice 2013 Event The mission of the NASA Curiosity Mars rover begins as it makes way to its destination and drives to Mount Sharp 2013 Event In California, NASA launches a space probe to observe the Sun; the probe is referred to as the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS 2013 Event The brightest lunar meteor impact ever observed is recorded by NASA 2013 Event James Hansen, a top scientist and professor from NASA, retires in order to concentrate on global warming activism 2013 Event NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft transmits images that for the very first time, allow scientists to create a 3D reconstruction of ancient water channels below the surface of Mars 2013 Event NASA loses communication with the International Space Station's for three hours as a result of updating the station's command and control software 2013 Event NASA reveals the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR), a lunar mining robot which could be used to produce fuel and water directly on the Moon 2013 Event Calcium deposits found on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover; the deposits are similar to deposits formed on Earth when water circulates in cracks and rock fractures 2013 Event NASA scientists achieve a first in laser communication when they successfully beam a picture of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a spacecraft orbiting the Moon 2012 Event NASA reports its Twin GRAIL probes studying the surface of the Moon reveal unexpectedly-deep cracks, craters and tectonic structures 2012 Event NASA's Curiosity rover continues to make small discoveries as the organization works to discredit rumors of evidence of life on Mars 2012 Event New findings from MESSENGER, NASA's space probe, indicate almost definitively, that the north pole of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, has water ice buried beneath the surface 2012 Event NASA reports its three-man crew of Joe Acaba and Russian colleagues Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin landed safely in the Russian-made Soyuz capsule after 123 days at the International Space Station 2012 Event The Curiosity rover controlled by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, lands safely on the surface of Mars 2012 Event The first space-bound Orion spacecraft is unveiled in Cape Canaveral, FloridaFlorida by NASA and Lockheed Martin 2012 Event The United States space agency NASA reveals it had its security compromised by hackers 13 times in the past year 2012 Event NASA's second Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is in orbit around the moon 2011 Event The robotic Mars Science Laboratory, the largest rover ever sent to Mars, is launched by NASA; the goal is to find evidence of past or present life on Mars 2011 Event NASA scientists announce the discovery of a circumbinary planet - a planet the orbits two stars instead of one 2011 Event NASA reveals its Space Launch System plan, intended to replace the Space Shuttle program with its first flight scheduled for 2017 2009 Event The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS is launched by NASA to probe the Moon 2008 Event NASA's Phoenix spacecraft lands in the polar region on Mars 2003 Death Roy Neal, TV journalist, NASA correspondent, dies at 82 1998 Event NASA announces John Glenn, 76, may fly in space again 1996 Event NASA's 1st Mars rover launched from Cape Canaveral 1996 Event NASA announces that life may have existed on Mars 1993 Event NASA loses contact with Mars Observer 1992 Death James E Webb, head of NASA (1961-68), dies at 84 1991 Death Dudley McConnell, headed NASA's Earth Science Division, dies 1989 Event NASA closes down tracking stations in Hawaii and Ascension 1989 Event NASA confirmed Voyager 2's discovery of 3 more moons of Neptune designated temporarily 1989 N2, 1989 N3 and 1989 N24 1989 Event NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, announce new high-temperature superconductors able to operate at 33 to 37 Gigahertz 1989 Event NASA closes down tracking stations in Santiago, Chile and Guam 1988 Event NASA unviels plans for lunar colony and manned missions to Mars 1988 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-214 1988 Event Judge orders NASA to release unedited tape from Challenger cockpit 1988 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-213 1988 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-211 1988 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-206 1988 Event NASA reports accelerated breakdown of ozone layer by CFK 1988 Event NASA launches DOD-2 1987 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-209 1987 Event NASA launches Fltsatcom-6, it failed to reach orbit 1987 Event NASA launches Palapa B2P 1987 Event NASA launches GEOS-H 1986 Event NASA launches Fltsatcom-7 1986 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-199 1986 Event NASA awards study contracts to 5 aerospace firms 1986 Event NASA launches DOD-1 1986 Event NASA announces tests designed to verify ignition pressure dynamics 1986 Event NASA releases transcript from doomed Challenger, pilot Michael Smith could be heard saying, "Uh-oh!" as spacecraft disintegrated 1986 Event NASA's plan to implement recommendations of Rogers commission 1986 Event NASA establishes Safety, Reliability Maintain and Quality Assurance 1986 Event President Reagan appoints Dr. James C Fletcher NASA Administrator 1986 Event NASA launches Goes-G, it failed to achieve orbit 1986 Event NASA publishes "Strategy for Safely Returning the Space Shuttle to Flight Status" 1986 Event NASA announces searchers found remains of Challenger astronauts 1985 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-207 1985 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-209 1985 Event NASA launches Intelsat VA 1985 Event NASA launches Intelsat VA 1984 Event NASA launches NATO-3D 1984 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-208 1984 Event NASA launches Galaxy-C 1983 Event NASA launches Galaxy-B 1983 Event NASA launches RCA-6 1983 Event NASA launches Telstar-3A 1983 Event NASA launches Galaxy-A 1983 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-205 1983 Event NASA launches Exosat 1983 Event NASA launches Intelsat V 1983 Event NASA launches Geos-F 1983 Event NASA launches RCA-F 1982 Event NASA launches RCA-E 1982 Event NASA launches Intelsat V 1982 Event NASA launches Telesat-F 1982 Event NASA launches Landsat 4 to thematic map the Earth 1982 Event New York Times reports that military will get 25% of NASA's budget 1982 Event NASA launches Intelsat V 1981 Event NASA launches Intelsat V 1981 Event NASA launches Fltsatcom-5, it failed 1981 Event NASA launches Intelsat V 1981 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-192 1981 Event NASA launches Comstar D-4 1980 Event NASA launches Intelsat V 1980 Event NASA launches Flt Satcom-4 1980 Event NASA launches Fltsatcom-3 1979 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-203 1979 Event NASA launches HEAO 1979 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-198 1979 Event NASA launches Fltsatcom-2 1979 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-202 1978 Event NASA launches HEAO 1978 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-201 1977 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-200 1977 Event NASA launches Voyager 2 towards Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune 1976 Event NASA publicly unveils space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, California 1976 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-197 1976 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-179 1975 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-196, it failed 1975 Event NASA launches space vehicle S-195 1974 Event NASA launches Italian satellite San Marcos C-2 (235/843 km) 1973 Event NASA launches Radio Astronomy Explorer 49 into lunar orbit 1972 Event Rockwell receives NASA contract to construct Space Shuttle 1972 Event NASA selects 3 part configuration for Space Shuttle 1972 Event NASA announces development of space shuttle 1972 Event President Nixon signs a bill for NASA to begin research on manned shuttle 1971 Event NASA launches Intelsat 4 F-3 for COMSAT Corp 1964 Event NASA launches its 1st Orbital Geophysical Observatory (OGO-1) 1963 Event NASA civilian test pilot Joe Walker in X-15 reaches 67 miles (106 km) 1963 Event NASA civilian Test pilot Joe Walker in X-15 reaches 105 km 1962 Event NASA civilian test pilot John B McKay takes X-15 to 39,200 m 1962 Event NASA civilian test pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 60,000 m 1962 Event NASA civilian test pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 32,600 m 1962 Event NASA civilian Test pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 32,600 m 1962 Event NASA civilian pilot Joseph Walker takes X-15 to 6,606 kph, 37,700 m 1962 Event NASA civilian test pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 31,580 m 1962 Event NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 75,190 m 1962 Event NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes X-15 to 63,250 m 1962 Event NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 46,900m 1962 Event NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes X-15 to 54,600 m 1962 Event A NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong takes X-15 to 40,690 m 1961 Event NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 33,100 m 1961 Event NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 34,840 m 1961 Event NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 32,770 m 1961 Event Alan Shepard receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Washington 1961 Event NASA launches Explorer 11 into Earth orbit to study gamma rays 1961 Event NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 169,600' (51,690 m) 1959 Event NASA names 1st 7 astronauts for Project Mercury 1958 Event Vanguard Project transferred from military to NASA 1958 Event President Eisenhower signs NASA and Space Act of 1958 1958 Event National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA 1951 Birthday Sally Ride, born in Encino, California, physicist, astronaut, first American woman crewmember in space on the Challenger, founded NASA's Office of Exploration 1941 Event Ground breaking for NACA (now NASA) Lewis Research Center 1932 Birthday William Odom, American, NASA director, Soviet Union expert, U.S. Army lieutenant general, advised Carter, Reagan 1932 Birthday Einar K Enevoldson, U.S., Nasa test pilot, X-24B 1915 Event National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA forerunner) created 1906 Birthday James E Webb, head of NASA, 1961-68
