On July 29, 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act. This establishes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as the successor to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) as well as shifting the mission of space exploration from the military to the civilian sector. NASA officially became an operational agency on October 1 of the same year. Approximately 11 years later, the agency would land the first men on the moon with the Apollo 11 mission. Since then, NASA has led the way in space exploration as well as aeronautical and scientific ventures and, alongside private sector ventures, plans to eventually launch a manned mission to Mars.

Featured in this image are three objects associated with NASA's early days. The pressure suit worn by the fox is the Navy Mk. IV, also known as the Mercury suit due to its use in the early Mercury space missions. The rocket is the Mercury-Redstone which served as the booster for NASA's early manned spaceflights. The aircraft is the North American X-15, current record-holder for fastest powered manned aircraft. The X-15 first flew in 1959 and has held its record since 1967.