NASA Astronauts Return After 286-Day Space Mission

Recently, astronauts from NASA, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, successfully returned to Earth after an unexpected 286-day stay in space.

Mission Overview:
- Wilmore and Williams flew to the ISS in June 2024 on a planned short-duration mission to test Boeing’s Starliner.
- Technical failures with the Starliner forced them to remain at the ISS for nearly nine months.
- Despite the extended stay, their mission ranks sixth in U.S. spaceflight duration records.
Global Records:
- The longest U.S. space mission is held by Frank Rubio (371 days, 2023).
- The world record for the longest single-mission stay in space remains with Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov (437 days).

Established: Founded on July 29, 1958, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower through the National Aeronautics and Space Act.
Cold War Influence: Created in response to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik I (October 4, 1957) and Sputnik II (November 1957).
First U.S. Satellite: Explorer 1 (January 1958) discovered the Van Allen radiation belts.
Objective: To conduct research into flight within Earth’s atmosphere and in space.
Civilian Agency: NASA was established as a civilian agency to focus on peaceful exploration.
Major Achievements:
- First human on the Moon (1969, Apollo 11).
- Mars Rover Missions (Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance).
- Hubble Space Telescope (1990).
Global Collaboration: Works with international space agencies like ESA (European Space Agency), Roscosmos (Russia), and ISRO (India).

The establishment of NASA in 1958 was primarily influenced by which of the following factors?

Answer: B) The Cold War rivalry and technological competition with the Soviet Union

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