NASA's Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, in the Jezero Crater. The rover's mission is to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith for possible return to Earth. Perseverance also carries the Ingenuity helicopter, which performed the first powered flight on another planet.

On May 30, 2020, NASA and SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Demo-2 mission, marking the first time a commercial company launched astronauts to the International Space Station. This mission was a pivotal moment in NASA's Commercial Crew Program, aimed at developing safe, reliable, and cost-effective crew transportation to and from the ISS.

NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars on August 6, 2012, as part of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. Curiosity's objectives include investigating Martian climate and geology, assessing whether the selected field site inside Gale Crater has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, and planetary habitability studies.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit successfully landed on Mars on January 3, 2004. Spirit's mission was to search for evidence of past water activity on Mars. The rover exceeded its planned 90-day mission, operating for over six years and providing valuable data about the Martian surface and geology.

The first module of the International Space Station (ISS), Zarya, was launched on November 20, 1998. This marked the beginning of the assembly of the ISS, a collaborative project involving NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA. The ISS serves as a space environment research laboratory and has been continuously inhabited since November 2000.

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into low Earth orbit on April 24, 1990, aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. As one of the most significant astronomical instruments ever built, Hubble has provided unprecedented views of the universe, leading to numerous discoveries about galaxies, stars, and the expansion of the universe.

NASA launched its first space shuttle, Columbia, on April 12, 1981. This marked the beginning of the Space Shuttle program, which aimed to provide reusable spacecraft for human spaceflight missions. The shuttle program played a crucial role in deploying satellites, servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, and constructing the International Space Station.

On July 20, 1969, NASA's Apollo 11 mission successfully landed the first humans on the Moon. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first and second humans to walk on the lunar surface, while Michael Collins orbited above in the command module. Armstrong's famous words, 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,' were broadcast to millions around the world.

Alan Shepard became the first American astronaut to travel into space on May 5, 1961. His suborbital flight aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft marked a significant milestone for NASA and the United States in the space race against the Soviet Union, who had launched Yuri Gagarin into orbit a month earlier.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established on July 29, 1958, as a response to the Soviet Union's early advances in space exploration, particularly the launch of Sputnik. NASA was created to coordinate the United States' efforts in space exploration and aeronautics research.