1. On October 30, 1938, residents of New Mexico and the rest of the United States were stunned by Orson Welles' now-famous Halloween broadcast of "The War of the Worlds." Many people mistakenly believed the broadcast's fictional news reports of an alien invasion were real, leading to panic and chaos in some areas.

2. On October 30, 1984, New Mexico's first female governor, Susana Martinez, was born in El Paso, Texas. Martinez served as governor from 2011 to 2019 and was the first Hispanic woman to be elected governor in the United States.

3. October 30, 1861, marked the beginning of the Battle of Santa Rosa, a small but significant skirmish during the American Civil War. Union soldiers under the command of Colonel Edward R. S. Canby successfully defended their position against a Confederate assault on the town of Santa Rosa, located in present-day Guadalupe County.

4. On October 30, 2009, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority broke ground on Spaceport America, a private commercial spaceport located in Sierra County. The spaceport, which is still under development, is intended to serve as the launching point for suborbital space tourism and scientific research.

5. October 30, 1974, saw the opening of the Sandia Peak Tramway, an aerial tramway that transports passengers from Albuquerque to the top of Sandia Peak. The tramway is one of New Mexico's most popular tourist attractions and offers stunning views of Albuquerque and the surrounding landscape.