Soon after the United States launched its own satellite. But the American public was concerned about the Soviet space program. Politicians feared that Soviet superiority in space could threaten national security. In response the American government replaced NACA with NASA - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958. One of NASA's missions was to have strong peaceful purposes in the exploration of space.

Much as they had with airplanes, people began realizing the usefulness of satellites. Satellites could help in navigation and weather forecasting as well as observing, collecting and transmitting information about the earth's atmosphere and space phenomena as well as information beneficial to national security. Some satellites acted as small telescopes or housed equipment for science experiments.

In October, 1958 , within its first week, NASA announced, Project Mercury, the first of three manned space programs for the United States.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the United States' plans of a mission to the moon. The president promised that U.S. astronauts would land on the moon before the decade was over. And with each project goal achieved, the United States was one step closer to reaching the moon. Other projects in the U.S. space program, like Project Gemini and Project Apollo, contributed to this goal.

Without previous experience in space travel scientists thought that regular food might "explode" in the low gravity of space. So the first foods the early astronauts ate was a paste-like substance squeezed from something like toothpaste tubes.

NASA's ultimate goal was to send people to the moon. On July 20, 1969, this dream became reality when Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the moon.

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Last modified: Mon Sep 6 11:55:30 PDT 199r97

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