The National Aeronautics Space Administration, or NASA as it is more commonly known, is responsible for many space travel successes. In 1979, NASA's Skylab crashed on Australian soil and, instead of admitting it, the Australian government fined NASA $400 for littering. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay NASA was born in 1958. NASA was founded after the Soviets launched their satellite “Sputnik 1” which sparked the space race. Before the founding of NASA, there was an organization called "NACA", which stood for National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The NACA essentially was to promote and undertake research in space. Although NASA was originally supposed to take part in the space race, its stated goal is that "NASA's enduring purpose is scientific discovery and exploration for the benefit of the United States and mankind." NASA's first program was Project Mercury which succeeded in sending man into space. On July 16, 1969, NASA finally succeeded in landing a man on the moon. Neil Armstrong was first out and Edwin 'Buzz' AAldrin followed suit. Not many people know that Michel Collins was also on the mission, but he stayed on the ship while Buzz and Neil landed on the moon. The pair remained on the Moon for 21 hours, with more than 600 million people tuning in to the iconic landing. Approximately 400,000 engineers, technicians and scientists contributed to this extraordinary feat in the history of space travel. The president of the United States, President Nixon, arranged a phone call with Neil and Buzz once they landed on the moon, but in reality he had planned an alternative speech in case the mission failed. Spacewalks are not possible without spacesuits. If you don't wear a space suit all the air will be sucked out of your body and if you hold your breath your lungs will explode. Each suit weighs 21kg without the life support backpack, if you were to buy one you would be shorting yourself $12,000,000 USD. NASA also has orange space suits, they are actually called launch and entry suits. They are called this because after being launched into space, astronauts can only wear them inside the spacecraft. The launch and entry suits are bright orange because after splashdown (landing at sea) the orange is very visible to rescue teams. Spacesuits are primarily used to protect yourself from anything space can throw at you. NASA hosts many rockets and control centers. The definition of a rocket is a cylindrical projectile that covers great heights or distances. One of NASA's newest rockets is a feat, it had three tanks attached that would help launch it into orbit. Two white tanks attached to an external orange tank will detach from it when they run out of fuel followed by the orange tank. In the California Science Center you can see the spacecraft and an external tank, which will soon be put together at the launch position. NASA has many control centers, two of them are in Washington DC and Houston, Texas. This is where the famous Apollo 13 line comes from: “Houston, we have a problem.” Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Although some people believe that NASA is a waste of money, they actually only get half a cent out of every tax dollar. NASA has employed some very smart people, for example Lonnie Johnson was employed at NASA and is actually the man who invented the ’30.