It was on 29 July 1958, when resident Eisenhower signed into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, empowering the establishment of a new civilian agency named the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

So, this week, NASA turns 55.

With the buildup of NASA, the 42-year old National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was ended and the United States' got formal approval for its military space operations.

Till then, it was the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics that was supervising the existing distinct pre-spaceflight activities across the country.

The main reason behind the establishment of NASA was the budding of strains between the United States and the Soviet Union. With growing time, it was notably increasing.

But thanks to the conversations that took place between President Kennedy and deputy director Hugh Dryden, finally the Americans landed on moon.

For achieving this target, NASA engineers and managers carried out numerous sets of tests that continued for decades. Creation of materials, procedure and finally the technology was the main credential.

Then they proved whether humans could survive and operate in space or no.

For this, the first ever project named Mercury was initiated in which seven highly trained pilots were sent to space. They are today remembered as the United States' first astronauts: Grissom, Shepard, Cooper, Slayton, Schirra, Glenn, and Carpenter.