The Most Important Events in NASA's History

Mariner 2 accomplished the first flyby of a planet when it soared past Venus. The spacecraft was also the first to measure the solar wind — charged particles flowing from the Sun.

America put the first Apollo Command Module in orbit. The capsule was launched during an automated test flight atop a Saturn I rocket. The purpose of the test was to show the compatibility of the spacecraft with the launch vehicle for orbital flights.

Edward H. White II performed the first spacewalk by an American during the Gemini IV flight, which was the second piloted Gemini mission. White’s walk lasted 23 minutes. This task needed to be accomplished before making a moon landing.

Eight months after launch, the space probe Mariner 4 traveled to within 6,118 miles of Mars, sending back close-up images of the planet. The spacecraft lasted about three years in solar orbit, and provided studies of the solar wind.

In order for the lunar module to be able to dock with the spacecraft upon returning from the moon, it was important to test the docking maneuver. Commander Neil A. Armstrong and Pilot David Scott docked their Gemini VIII spacecraft with the Agena target vehicle, the first linking of two spacecraft in Earth orbit. The two spacecraft were in the third orbit of the mission, over Mexico’s west coast.