Today in history: In 1958, NASA was created

On July 29, 1958, the U.S. Congress officially passed legislation that established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) -- a civilian agency that is responsible for coordinating America's activity in space.

Since NASA's introduction to the world, the agency has made huge strides in space exploration and scientific discovery -- sponsoring both human and mechanical space expeditions. Through their launch of earth-orbiting satellites, NASA has discovered vital information about our solar system.

The agency was initially created in response to the Soviet Union's 1957 launch of its first satellite, Sputnik I -- known for orbiting the earth in 98 minutes. Americans were fearful of these technological developments and the possibility of the Soviets sending missiles with nuclear weapons to America.

Since the U.S. prided themselves on being at the forefront of technology, the country decided to join the race to space. Thus, the U.S.-Soviet space race began and NASA was born, and the agency has continued to innovate and amaze ever since.

NASA joined Twitter on December 20, 2007 and has since accrued more than 11 million followers. Their first tweet was about Apollo 17:

While NASA facilitated man's first walk on the moon, the agency continues to make amazing advances and discoveries in space.

See below for incredible photos from NASA's Instagram account:

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