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NASA History

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Visit us at www.nasa.gov/history, and find other verified NASA social media accounts at nasa.gov/socialmedia

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09/04/2026

Launched on Sept. 5, 1977—16 days after Voyager 2—Voyager 1 quickly overtook its twin as they journeyed to explore the outer solar system.

Today Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object, and on Nov. 18, it will reach another historic milestone: one light-day from Earth. At that distance, a signal from Earth will take 24 hours to reach the spacecraft—and another 24 hours to return.

09/03/2026

Two for two! 🙌

After the Viking 1 lander touched down on Mars in July 1976, America logged its second successful Mars landing 50 years ago today when Viking 2 arrived at Utopia Planitia. The lander captured images, analyzed soil, and completed experiments in search of life in this higher-latitude location more than 4000 miles away from Viking 1.

📷 Viking 2's first color image, Sept 5, 1976

08/31/2026

You might know that the Lockheed U-2 high-altitude aircraft had a pivotal role in Cold War surveillance, but did you know that NASA acquired two U-2s in June 1971 for scientific research?

OTD 55 years ago, NASA completed its first data-acquisition flight with the U-2, kicking off decades of high-altitude airborne science.

📷 One of NASA's U-2s with its various sensors and cameras at NASA Ames Research Center in 1977

08/29/2026

The beginning of a 1.48 million-mile journey 🚀

The Apollo 17/Saturn V stack rolled out to Launch Complex 39 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Aug 28, 1972, in preparation for its December 1972 flight—the final Apollo lunar mission.

08/27/2026

Did you know the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope got an unexpected boost in 2012, when the National Reconnaissance Office gifted NASA two unused spy telescope mirrors?

One of these mirrors was repurposed for Roman, enabling a wider field of view for its mission to explore dark energy, exoplanets, and astrophysics.

08/26/2026

Today we remember mathematician Katherine Johnson, born in West Virginia OTD in 1918.

In 1953, Johnson began working as a human computer for the NACA (NASA's predecessor), performing complex calculations for flight research. Over her 33-year career with the agency, she worked on critical calculations for Project Mercury, Apollo, and Shuttle missions.

08/25/2026

45 years ago today, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Saturn, becoming the third NASA spacecraft to fly by the planet. 🪐 In addition to learning more about the planet's atmosphere and moons, Voyager 2 was the first to observe spokes in Saturn's rings.

Spokes, seen here as grey "smudges" on the rings, are transient features that occur seasonally. They are likely caused by interactions between Saturn's magnetic field and solar wind particles: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-watches-spoke-season-on-saturn/

08/24/2026

At a meeting of the International Astronomical Union 20 years ago today, astronomers vote on a definition of a "planet." The new criteria:

🌘 Must orbit its host star
🌓 Must be mostly round
🌒 Must be massive enough to clear away other objects of similar size in its orbit

Pluto fails on the third condition and becomes a dwarf planet.

08/21/2026

When astronauts Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad launched into space OTD in 1965 for their unprecedented 8-day Gemini V mission, NASA was eager to see how the spacecraft and crew would hold up to long-duration spaceflight.

As they made 120 revolutions around the planet in the close confines of the Gemini spacecraft, the astronauts made precision spacecraft maneuvers to simulate a rendezvous in space, undertook medical experiments, and took high-resolution photographs of Earth.

08/20/2026

The Hubble Space Telescope's mission, now over 36 years old, is a story of triumphs and near disasters.

In June, historians, scientists, engineers, and program leaders gathered to reflect on Hubble's legacy and the lessons that could help shape NASA's next space telescopes. Read their comments in the newly released transcript: https://www.nasa.gov/history/history-publications-and-resources/nasa-history-series/

Image: A Hubble observation of the Prawn Nebula, a massive stellar nursery located in the constellation Scorpius, about 6,000 light years from Earth. Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Tan (Chalmers University of Technology); Processing; Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

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