09/02/2025, 18:31 NASA - Wikipedia

NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space
(NASA /ˈnæsə/) is an independent agency of the US
Administration
federal government responsible for the United States' civil
space program, aeronautics research and space research.
Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the US space
development effort a distinct civilian orientation,
emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. It has
since led most of America's space exploration programs,
including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–
1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space
station, and the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA supports
the International Space Station (ISS) along with the NASA seal
Commercial Crew Program, and oversees the
development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space
Launch System for the lunar Artemis program.

NASA's science division is focused on better

understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System; NASA insignia
advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science
Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program;
exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with
advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons and
planetary rovers such as Perseverance; and researching
astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the
James Webb Space Telescope, the four Great
Observatories, and associated programs. The Launch
Services Program oversees launch operations for its
uncrewed launches.
Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building
in Washington, D.C.
Agency overview
History
Abbreviation NASA
Formed July 29, 1958
Creation Preceding National Advisory Committee
NASA traces its roots to the National Advisory agency for Aeronautics (1915–
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Despite being the 1958)[1]
birthplace of aviation, by 1914 the United States Type Space agency
recognized that it was far behind Europe in aviation Aeronautics research
capability. Determined to regain American leadership in agency
aviation, the United States Congress created the Aviation
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Section of the US Army Signal Corps in 1914 and Jurisdiction United States Federal
established NACA in 1915 to foster aeronautical research Government
and development. Over the next forty years, NACA would Headquarters Mary W. Jackson NASA
conduct aeronautical research in support of the US Air Headquarters
Force, US Army, US Navy, and the civil aviation sector. Washington, D.C.
After the end of World War II, NACA became interested 38°52′59″N 77°0′59″W
in the possibilities of guided missiles and supersonic
Administrator Janet Petro (acting)
aircraft, developing and testing the Bell X-1 in a joint
Deputy Vacant
program with the US Air Force. NACA's interest in space
Administrator
grew out of its rocketry program at the Pilotless Aircraft
Research Division.[4] Primary Kennedy Space Center
spaceports Cape Canaveral Space
The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1 ushered in the Force Station
Space Age and kicked off the Space Race. Despite
Vandenberg Space Force
NACA's early rocketry program, the responsibility for
Base
launching the first American satellite fell to the Naval
Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard, whose Wallops Flight Facility
operational issues ensured the Army Ballistic Missile Employees 17,960 (2022)[2]
Agency would launch Explorer 1, America's first satellite, Annual budget US$25.4 billion (2023)[3]
on February 1, 1958.
Website [Link] ([Link]
The Eisenhower Administration decided to split the gov/)
United States' military and civil spaceflight programs,
which were organized together under the Department of Defense's
Advanced Research Projects Agency. NASA was established on July
29, 1958, with the signing of the National Aeronautics and Space Act
and it began operations on October 1, 1958.[4]

As the US's premier aeronautics agency, NACA formed the core of

NASA's new structure by reassigning 8,000 employees and three
major research laboratories. NASA also proceeded to absorb the
Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard, the Army's Jet A US Air Force Bell X-1 test flight
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency
under Wernher von Braun. This left NASA firmly as the United
States' civil space lead and the Air Force as the military space lead.[4]

First orbital and hypersonic flights

Plans for human spaceflight began in the US Armed Forces prior to NASA's creation. The Air Force's Man
in Space Soonest project formed in 1956,[5] coupled with the Army's Project Adam, served as the foundation
for Project Mercury. NASA established the Space Task Group to manage the program,[6] which would
conduct crewed sub-orbital flights with the Army's Redstone rockets and orbital flights with the Air Force's
Atlas launch vehicles. While NASA intended for its first astronauts to be civilians, President Eisenhower
directed that they be selected from the military. The Mercury 7 astronauts included three Air Force pilots,
three Navy aviators, and one Marine Corps pilot.[4]

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to enter space, performing a suborbital spaceflight
in the Freedom 7.[7] This flight occurred less than a month after the Soviet Yuri Gagarin became the first
human in space, executing a full orbital spaceflight. NASA's first orbital spaceflight was conducted by John
Glenn on February 20, 1962, in the Friendship 7, making three full orbits before reentering. Glenn had to fly
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parts of his final two orbits manually due to an autopilot

malfunction.[8] The sixth and final Mercury mission was flown by
Gordon Cooper in May 1963, performing 22 orbits over 34 hours in
the Faith 7.[9] The Mercury Program was wildly recognized as a
resounding success, achieving its objectives to orbit a human in
space, develop tracking and control systems, and identify other issues
associated with human spaceflight.[4]

While much of NASA's attention turned to space, it did not put aside
its aeronautics mission. Early aeronautics research attempted to build
upon the X-1's supersonic flight to build an aircraft capable of
hypersonic flight. The North American X-15 was a joint NASA–US
Air Force program,[10] with the hypersonic test aircraft becoming the
first non-dedicated spacecraft to cross from the atmosphere to outer
space. The X-15 also served as a testbed for Apollo program
technologies, as well as ramjet and scramjet propulsion.[4] Launch of the Army Ballistic Missile
Agency's Explorer 1, America's first
satellite
Moon landing
Escalations in the Cold War between the United States and Soviet
Union prompted President John F. Kennedy to charge NASA with
landing an American on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth
by the end of the 1960s and installed James E. Webb as NASA
administrator to achieve this goal.[11] On May 25, 1961, President
Kennedy openly declared this goal in his "Urgent National Needs"
speech to the United States Congress, declaring:

I believe this Nation should commit itself to achieving the

goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the
Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space
project in this period will be more impressive to mankind,
or more important for the long-range exploration of space;
and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.
Launch of Friendship 7, NASA's first
orbital flight, February 20, 1962
Kennedy gave his "We choose to go to the Moon" speech the next
year, on September 12, 1962 at Rice University, where he addressed
the nation hoping to reinforce public support for the Apollo
program.[12]

Despite attacks on the goal of landing astronauts on the Moon from

the former president Dwight Eisenhower and 1964 presidential
candidate Barry Goldwater, President Kennedy was able to protect
NASA's growing budget, of which 50% went directly to human
spaceflight and it was later estimated that, at its height, 5% of
Americans worked on some aspect of the Apollo program.[4] The NASA-Air Force X-15
hypersonic aircraft
Mirroring the Department of Defense's program management concept
using redundant systems in building the first intercontinental ballistic
missiles, NASA requested the Air Force assign Major General Samuel C. Phillips to the space agency where
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he would serve as the director of the Apollo program. Development

of the Saturn V rocket was led by Wernher von Braun and his team at
the Marshall Space Flight Center, derived from the Army Ballistic
Missile Agency's original Saturn I. The Apollo spacecraft was
designed and built by North American Aviation, while the Apollo
Lunar Module was designed and built by Grumman.[4]

To develop the spaceflight skills and equipment required for a lunar

mission, NASA initiated Project Gemini.[13] Using a modified Air
Force Titan II launch vehicle, the Gemini capsule could hold two
astronauts for flights of over two weeks. Gemini pioneered the use of
fuel cells instead of batteries, and conducted the first American Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 conduct an
spacewalks and rendezvous operations. orbital rendezvous

The Ranger Program was started in the 1950s as a response to Soviet

lunar exploration, however most missions ended in failure. The Lunar
Orbiter program had greater success, mapping the surface in
preparation for Apollo landings, conducting meteoroid detection, and
measuring radiation levels. The Surveyor program conducted
uncrewed lunar landings and takeoffs, as well as taking surface and
regolith observations.[4] Despite the setback caused by the Apollo 1
fire, which killed three astronauts, the program proceeded.

Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and
the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the
Moon ten times on December 24 and 25, 1968, and then traveled
safely back to Earth.[14][15][16] The three Apollo 8 astronauts—Frank
Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders—were the first humans
to see the Earth as a globe in space, the first to witness an Earthrise, Launch of Apollo 11
and the first to see and manually photograph the far side of the Moon.

The first lunar landing was conducted by Apollo 11. Commanded by

Neil Armstrong with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins,
Apollo 11 was one of the most significant missions in NASA's
history, marking the end of the Space Race when the Soviet Union
gave up its lunar ambitions. As the first human to step on the surface
of the Moon, Neil Armstrong uttered the now famous words:

That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

NASA would conduct six total lunar landings as part of the Apollo
program, with Apollo 17 concluding the program in 1972.[4] Buzz Aldrin salutes the United
States flag on the lunar surface.
End of Apollo
Wernher von Braun had advocated for NASA to develop a space station since the agency was created. In
1973, following the end of the Apollo lunar missions, NASA launched its first space station, Skylab, on the
final launch of the Saturn V. Skylab reused a significant amount of Apollo and Saturn hardware, with a
repurposed Saturn V third stage serving as the primary module for the space station. Damage to Skylab

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during its launch required spacewalks to be performed by the first

crew to make it habitable and operational. Skylab hosted nine
missions and was decommissioned in 1974 and deorbited in 1979,
two years prior to the first launch of the Space Shuttle and any
possibility of boosting its orbit.[4]

In 1975, the Apollo–Soyuz mission was the first ever international

spaceflight and a major diplomatic accomplishment between the Cold
War rivals, which also marked the last flight of the Apollo capsule.[4]
Flown in 1975, a US Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz Apollo 15 CSM Endeavour in lunar
capsule. orbit

Interplanetary exploration and space science

During the 1960s, NASA started its space science and interplanetary
probe program. The Mariner program was its flagship program,
launching probes to Venus, Mars, and Mercury in the 1960s.[17][18]
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was the lead NASA center for robotic
interplanetary exploration, making significant discoveries about the
inner planets. Despite these successes, Congress was unwilling to
fund further interplanetary missions and NASA Administrator James
Webb suspended all future interplanetary probes to focus resources
on the Apollo program.[4]
Image from Mars taken by the
Viking 2 lander.
Following the conclusion of the Apollo program, NASA resumed
launching interplanetary probes and expanded its space science
program. The first planet tagged for exploration was Venus, sharing many similar characteristics to Earth.
First visited by American Mariner 2 spacecraft,[19] Venus was observed to be a hot and inhospitable planet.
Follow-on missions included the Pioneer Venus project in the 1970s and Magellan, which performed radar
mapping of Venus' surface in the 1980s and 1990s. Future missions were flybys of Venus, on their way to
other destinations in the Solar System.[4]

Mars has long been a planet of intense fascination for NASA, being suspected of potentially having harbored
life. Mariner 5 was the first NASA spacecraft to flyby Mars,[20] followed by Mariner 6 and Mariner 7.
Mariner 9 was the first orbital mission to Mars. Launched in 1975, Viking program consisted of two landings
on Mars in 1976. Follow-on missions would not be launched until 1996, with the Mars Global Surveyor
orbiter and Mars Pathfinder, deploying the first Mars rover, Sojourner.[21] During the early 2000s, the 2001
Mars Odyssey orbiter reached the planet and in 2004 the Sprit and Opportunity rovers landed on the Red
Planet. This was followed in 2005 by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and 2007 Phoenix Mars lander. The
2012 landing of Curiosity discovered that the radiation levels on Mars were equal to those on the
International Space Station, greatly increasing the possibility of Human exploration, and observed the key
chemical ingredients for life to occur. In 2013, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN)
mission observed the Martian upper atmosphere and space environment and in 2018, the Interior exploration
using Seismic Investigations Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) studied the Martian interior. The 2021
Perseverance rover carried the first extraplanetary aircraft, a helicopter named Ingenuity.[4]

NASA also launched missions to Mercury in 2004, with the MESSENGER probe demonstrating as the first
use of a solar sail.[22] NASA also launched probes to the outer Solar System starting in the 1960s. Pioneer
10 was the first probe to the outer planets, flying by Jupiter, while Pioneer 11 provided the first close up
view of the planet. Both probes became the first objects to leave the Solar System. The Voyager program
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launched in 1977, conducting flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus on a trajectory to leave the
Solar System.[23] The Galileo spacecraft, deployed from the Space Shuttle flight STS-34, was the first
spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, discovering evidence of subsurface oceans on the Europa and observed that the
moon may hold ice or liquid water.[24] A joint NASA-European Space Agency-Italian Space Agency
mission, Cassini–Huygens, was sent to Saturn's moon Titan, which, along with Mars and Europa, are the
only celestial bodies in the Solar System suspected of being capable of harboring life.[25] Cassini discovered
three new moons of Saturn and the Huygens probe entered Titan's atmosphere. The mission discovered
evidence of liquid hydrocarbon lakes on Titan and subsurface water oceans on the moon of Enceladus, which
could harbor life. Finally launched in 2006, the New Horizons mission was the first spacecraft to visit Pluto
and the Kuiper Belt.[4]

Beyond interplanetary probes, NASA has launched many space telescopes. Launched in the 1960s, the
Orbiting Astronomical Observatory were NASA's first orbital telescopes,[26] providing ultraviolet, gamma-
ray, x-ray, and infrared observations. NASA launched the Orbiting Geophysical Observatory in the 1960s
and 1970s to look down at Earth and observe its interactions with the Sun. The Uhuru satellite was the first
dedicated x-ray telescope, mapping 85% of the sky and discovering a large number of black holes.[4]

Launched in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Great Observatories

program are among NASA's most powerful telescopes. The Hubble
Space Telescope was launched in 1990 on STS-31 from the
Discovery and could view galaxies 15 billion light years away.[27] A
major defect in the telescope's mirror could have crippled the
program, had NASA not used computer enhancement to compensate
for the imperfection and launched five Space Shuttle servicing flights
to replace the damaged components. The Compton Gamma Ray
The Hubble Space Telescope in
Observatory was launched from the Atlantis on STS-37 in 1991, Low Earth Orbit
discovering a possible source of antimatter at the center of the Milky
Way and observing that the majority of gamma-ray bursts occur
outside of the Milky Way galaxy. The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched from the Columbia on STS-
93 in 1999, observing black holes, quasars, supernova, and dark matter. It provided critical observations on
the Sagittarius A* black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy and the separation of dark and regular
matter during galactic collisions. Finally, the Spitzer Space Telescope is an infrared telescope launched in
2003 from a Delta II rocket. It is in a trailing orbit around the Sun, following the Earth and discovered the
existence of brown dwarf stars.[4]

Other telescopes, such as the Cosmic Background Explorer and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe,
provided evidence to support the Big Bang.[28] The James Webb Space Telescope, named after the NASA
administrator who lead the Apollo program, is an infrared observatory launched in 2021. The James Webb
Space Telescope is a direct successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, intended to observe the formation of
the first galaxies.[29] Other space telescopes include the Kepler space telescope, launched in 2009 to identify
planets orbiting extrasolar stars that may be Terran and possibly harbor life. The first exoplanet that the
Keplar space telescope confirmed was Kepler-22b, orbiting within the habitable zone of its star.[4]

NASA also launched a number of different satellites to study Earth, such as Television Infrared Observation
Satellite (TIROS) in 1960, which was the first weather satellite.[30] NASA and the United States Weather
Bureau cooperated on future TIROS and the second generation Nimbus program of weather satellites. It also
worked with the Environmental Science Services Administration on a series of weather satellites and the
agency launched its experimental Applications Technology Satellites into geosynchronous orbit. NASA's

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first dedicated Earth observation satellite, Landsat, was launched in 1972. This led to NASA and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jointly developing the Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite and discovering Ozone depletion.[4]

Space Shuttle
NASA had been pursuing spaceplane development since the 1960s,
blending the administration's dual aeronautics and space missions.
NASA viewed a spaceplane as part of a larger program, providing
routine and economical logistical support to a space station in Earth
orbit that would be used as a hub for lunar and Mars missions. A
reusable launch vehicle would then have ended the need for
expensive and expendable boosters like the Saturn V.[4]

In 1969, NASA designated the Johnson Space Center as the lead

center for the design, development, and manufacturing of the Space
Shuttle orbiter, while the Marshall Space Flight Center would lead the
development of the launch system. NASA's series of lifting body
aircraft, culminating in the joint NASA-US Air Force Martin Marietta
X-24, directly informed the development of the Space Shuttle and
future hypersonic flight aircraft. Official development of the Space
Shuttle began in 1972, with Rockwell International contracted to
design the orbiter and engines, Martin Marietta for the external fuel
tank, and Morton Thiokol for the solid rocket boosters.[31] NASA Launch of the Space Shuttle
Discovery on STS-120
acquired six orbiters: the Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger,
Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour[4]

The Space Shuttle program also allowed NASA to make major changes to its Astronaut Corps. While almost
all previous astronauts were Air Force or Naval test pilots, the Space Shuttle allowed NASA to begin
recruiting more non-military scientific and technical experts. A prime example is Sally Ride, who became
the first American woman to fly in space on STS-7. This new astronaut selection process also allowed
NASA to accept exchange astronauts from US allies and partners for the first time.[4]

The first Space Shuttle flight occurred in 1981, when the Columbia launched on the STS-1 mission,
designed to serve as a flight test for the new spaceplane.[32] NASA intended for the Space Shuttle to replace
expendable launch systems like the Air Force's Atlas, Delta, and Titan and the European Space Agency's
Ariane. The Space Shuttle's Spacelab payload, developed by the European Space Agency, increased the
scientific capabilities of shuttle missions over anything NASA was able to previously accomplish.[4]

NASA launched its first commercial satellites on the STS-5 mission

and in 1984, the STS-41-C mission conducted the world's first on-
orbit satellite servicing mission when the Challenger captured and
repaired the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission satellite. It also
had the capability to return malfunctioning satellite to Earth, like it
did with the Palapa B2 and Westar 6 satellites. Once returned to
Earth, the satellites were repaired and relaunched.[4]

Despite ushering in a new era of spaceflight, where NASA was Space Shuttle Discovery in Low
contracting launch services to commercial companies, the Space Earth Orbit on STS-120
Shuttle was criticized for not being as reusable and cost-effective as
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advertised. In 1986, Challenger disaster on the STS-51L mission resulted in the loss of the spacecraft and all
seven astronauts on launch, grounding the entire space shuttle fleet for 36 months and forced the 44
commercial companies that contracted with NASA to deploy their satellites to return to expendable launch
vehicles.[33] When the Space Shuttle returned to flight with the STS-26 mission, it had undergone significant
modifications to improve its reliability and safety.[4]

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation

and United States initiated the Shuttle-Mir program.[34] The first
Russian cosmonaut flew on the STS-60 mission in 1994 and the
Discovery rendezvoused, but did not dock with, the Russian Mir in
the STS-63 mission. This was followed by Atlantis' STS-71 mission
where it accomplished the initial intended mission for the Space
Shuttle, docking with a space station and transferring supplies and
personnel. The Shuttle-Mir program would continue until 1998, when
a series of orbital accidents on the space station spelled an end to the
program.[4]

In 2003, a second space shuttle was destroyed when the Columbia An Air Force Space Command
was destroyed upon reentry during the STS-107 mission, resulting in Defense Support Program missile
the loss of the spacecraft and all seven astronauts.[35] This accident warning spacecraft deploys from the
Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-
marked the beginning of the retiring of the Space Shuttle program,
44 mission.
with President George W. Bush directing that upon the completion of
the International Space Station, the space shuttle be retired. In 2006,
the Space Shuttle returned to flight, conducting several mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, but
was retired following the STS-135 resupply mission to the International Space Station in 2011.

Space stations
NASA never gave up on the idea of a space station after Skylab's
reentry in 1979. The agency began lobbying politicians to support
building a larger space station as soon as the Space Shuttle began
flying, selling it as an orbital laboratory, repair station, and a jumping
off point for lunar and Mars missions. NASA found a strong advocate
in President Ronald Reagan, who declared in a 1984 speech:

America has always been greatest when we dared to be

great. We can reach for greatness again. We can follow our
dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for Skylab seen on the Skylab 4
mission
peaceful, economic, and scientific gain. Tonight I am
directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space
station and to do it within a decade.

In 1985, NASA proposed the Space Station Freedom, which both the agency and President Reagan intended
to be an international program.[36] While this would add legitimacy to the program, there were concerns
within NASA that the international component would dilute its authority within the project, having never
been willing to work with domestic or international partners as true equals. There was also a concern with
sharing sensitive space technologies with the Europeans, which had the potential to dilute America's

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technical lead. Ultimately, an international agreement to develop the Space Station Freedom program would
be signed with thirteen countries in 1985, including the European Space Agency member states, Canada, and
Japan.[4]

Despite its status as the first international space program, the Space Station Freedom was controversial, with
much of the debate centering on cost. Several redesigns to reduce cost were conducted in the early 1990s,
stripping away much of its functions. Despite calls for Congress to terminate the program, it continued, in
large part because by 1992 it had created 75,000 jobs across 39 states. By 1993, President Bill Clinton
attempted to significantly reduce NASA's budget and directed costs be significantly reduced, aerospace
industry jobs were not lost, and the Russians be included.[4]

In 1993, the Clinton Administration announced that the Space Station

Freedom would become the International Space Station in an
agreement with the Russian Federation.[37] This allowed the Russians
to maintain their space program through an infusion of American
currency to maintain their status as one of the two premier space
programs. While the United States built and launched the majority of
the International Space Station, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the
European Space Agency all contributed components. Despite NASA's The International Space Station
insistence that costs would be kept at a budget of $17.4, they kept seen from the Space Shuttle Atlantis
rising and NASA had to transfer funds from other programs to keep on the STS-132 mission.
the International Space Station solvent. Ultimately, the total cost of
the station was $150 billion, with the United States paying for two-
[Link] the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, NASA was forced to rely on Russian Soyuz
launches for its astronauts and the 2011 retirement of the Space Shuttle accelerated the station's
completion.[4]

In the 1980s, right after the first flight of the Space Shuttle, NASA started a joint program with the
Department of Defense to develop the Rockwell X-30 National Aerospace Plane. NASA realized that the
Space Shuttle, while a massive technological accomplishment, would not be able to live up to all its
promises. Designed to be a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane, the X-30 had both civil and military
applications. With the end of the Cold War, the X-30 was canceled in 1992 before reaching flight status.[4]

Unleashing commercial space and return to the Moon

Following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, President Bush started the Constellation program to
smoothly replace the Space Shuttle and expand space exploration beyond low Earth orbit.[38] Constellation
was intended to use a significant amount of former Space Shuttle equipment and return astronauts to the
Moon. This program was canceled by the Obama Administration. Former astronauts Neil Armstrong, Gene
Cernan, and Jim Lovell sent a letter to President Barack Obama to warn him that if the United States did not
get new human spaceflight ability, the US risked become a second or third-rate space power.[4]

As early as the Reagan Administration, there had been calls for NASA to expand private sector involvement
in space exploration rather than do it all in-house. In the 1990s, NASA and Lockheed Martin entered into an
agreement to develop the Lockheed Martin X-33 demonstrator of the VentureStar spaceplane, which was
intended to replace the Space Shuttle.[39] Due to technical challenges, the spacecraft was cancelled in 2001.
Despite this, it was the first time a commercial space company directly expended a significant amount of its
resources into spacecraft development. The advent of space tourism also forced NASA to challenge its

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assumption that only governments would have people in space. The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, an
American investment manager and former aerospace engineer who contracted with the Russians to fly to the
International Space Station for four days, despite the opposition of NASA to the idea.[4]

Advocates of this new commercial approach for NASA included former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who
remarked that it would return NASA to its roots as a research and development agency, with commercial
entities actually operating the space systems. Having corporations take over orbital operations would also
allow NASA to focus all its efforts on deep space exploration and returning humans to the Moon and going
to Mars. Embracing this approach, NASA's Commercial Crew Program started by contracting cargo delivery
to the International Space Station and flew its first operational contracted mission on SpaceX Crew-1. This
marked the first time since the retirement of the Space Shuttle that NASA was able to launch its own
astronauts on an American spacecraft from the United States, ending a decade of reliance on the Russians.[4]

In 2019, NASA announced the Artemis program, intending to return to the Moon and establish a permanent
human presence.[40] This was paired with the Artemis Accords with partner nations to establish rules of
behavior and norms of space commercialization on the Moon.[41]

In 2023, NASA established the Moon to Mars Program office. The office is designed to oversee the various
projects, mission architectures and associated timelines relevant to lunar and Mars exploration and
science.[42]

Active programs

Human spaceflight

International Space Station (1993–present)

The International Space Station (ISS)
combines NASA's Space Station Freedom
project with the Russian Mir-2 station, the
European Columbus station, and the Japanese
Kibō laboratory module.[43] NASA originally
planned in the 1980s to develop Freedom
alone, but US budget constraints led to the
merger of these projects into a single multi-national program in 1993, The International Space Station as
managed by NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA), the seen from Space Shuttle Endeavour
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space during STS-134
Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).[44][45] The
station consists of pressurized modules, external trusses, solar arrays
and other components, which were manufactured in various factories around the world and launched by
Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and the American Space Shuttle.[43] The on-orbit assembly began in
1998, the completion of the US Orbital Segment occurred in 2009 and the completion of the Russian Orbital
Segment occurred in 2010. The ownership and use of the space station is established in intergovernmental
treaties and agreements,[46] which divide the station into two areas and allow Russia to retain full ownership
of the Russian Orbital Segment (with the exception of Zarya),[47][48] with the US Orbital Segment allocated
between the other international partners.[46]

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Long-duration missions to the ISS are referred to as ISS Expeditions. Expedition crew members typically
spend approximately six months on the ISS.[49] The initial expedition crew size was three, temporarily
decreased to two following the Columbia disaster. Between May 2009 and until the retirement of the Space
Shuttle, the expedition crew size has been six crew members.[50] As of 2024, though the Commercial
Program's crew capsules can allow a crew of up to seven, expeditions using them typically consist of a crew
of four. The ISS has been continuously occupied for the past 24 years and 99 days, having exceeded the
previous record held by Mir; and has been visited by astronauts and cosmonauts from 15 different
nations.[51][52]

The station can be seen from the Earth with the naked eye and, as of 2025, is the largest artificial satellite in
Earth orbit with a mass and volume greater than that of any previous space station.[53] The Russian Soyuz
and American Dragon and Starliner spacecraft are used to send astronauts to and from the ISS. Several
uncrewed cargo spacecraft provide service to the ISS; they are the Russian Progress spacecraft which has
done so since 2000, the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) since 2008, the Japanese H-II Transfer
Vehicle (HTV) since 2009, the (uncrewed) Dragon since 2012, and the American Cygnus spacecraft since
2013.[54][55] The Space Shuttle, before its retirement, was also used for cargo transfer and would often
switch out expedition crew members, although it did not have the capability to remain docked for the
duration of their stay. Between the retirement of the Shuttle in 2011 and the commencement of crewed
Dragon flights in 2020, American astronauts exclusively used the Soyuz for crew transport to and from the
ISS[56] The highest number of people occupying the ISS has been thirteen; this occurred three times during
the late Shuttle ISS assembly missions.[57]

The ISS program is expected to continue until 2030,[58] after which the space station will be retired and
destroyed in a controlled de-orbit.[59]

Commercial Resupply Services (2008–present)

Commercial Resupply
Services (CRS) are a
contract solution to deliver
cargo and supplies to the
International Space Station
on a commercial basis by Dragon Cygnus
private companies. [60]

NASA signed its first CRS

contracts in 2008 and
awarded $1.6 billion to
SpaceX for twelve cargo
Dragon and $1.9 billion to
Orbital Sciences[note 1] for
eight Cygnus flights,
covering deliveries until
Commercial Resupply Services missions approaching International Space Station
2016. Both companies
evolved or created their
launch vehicle products to launch the spacecrafts (SpaceX with The Falcon 9 and Orbital with the Antares).

SpaceX flew its first operational resupply mission (SpaceX CRS-1) in 2012.[61] Orbital Sciences followed in
2014 (Cygnus CRS Orb-1).[62] In 2015, NASA extended CRS-1 to twenty flights for SpaceX and twelve
flights for Orbital ATK.[note 1][63][64]

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A second phase of contracts (known as CRS-2) was solicited in 2014; contracts were awarded in January
2016 to Orbital ATK[note 1] Cygnus, Sierra Nevada Corporation Dream Chaser, and SpaceX Dragon 2, for
cargo transport flights beginning in 2019 and expected to last through 2024. In March 2022, NASA awarded
an additional six CRS-2 missions each to both SpaceX and Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital).[65]

Northrop Grumman successfully delivered Cygnus NG-17 to the ISS in February 2022.[66] In July 2022,
SpaceX launched its 25th CRS flight (SpaceX CRS-25) and successfully delivered its cargo to the ISS.[67]
The Dream Chaser spacecraft is currently scheduled for its Demo-1 launch in the first half of 2024.[68]

Commercial Crew Program (2011–present)

The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially operated crew
transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under
contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the
International Space Station program. American space manufacturer SpaceX began
providing service in 2020, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft,[69] while Boeing's
Starliner spacecraft began providing service in 2024.[70][71][72] NASA has contracted
for six
operational
missions from
Boeing and
fourteen from
SpaceX, ensuring
sufficient support The Crew Dragon (left) and Starliner (right) approaching the ISS on their respective missions
for ISS through
2030.[73]

The spacecraft are owned and operated by the vendor, and crew transportation is provided to NASA as a
commercial service.[74] Each mission sends up to four astronauts to the ISS, with an option for a fifth
passenger available. Operational flights occur approximately once every six months for missions that last for
approximately six months. A spacecraft remains docked to the ISS during its mission, and missions usually
overlap by at least a few days. Between the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011 and the first operational
CCP mission in 2020, NASA relied on the Soyuz program to transport its astronauts to the ISS.

A Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched to space atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle and the capsule
returns to Earth via splashdown in the ocean near Florida. The program's first operational mission, SpaceX
Crew-1, launched on November 16, 2020.[75] Boeing Starliner operational flights will now commence with
Boeing Starliner-1 which will launched atop an Atlas V N22 launch vehicle. Instead of a splashdown,
Starliner capsules return on land with airbags at one of four designated sites in the western United States.[76]

Artemis (2017–present)
Since 2017, NASA's crewed spaceflight program has been the Artemis program,
which involves the help of US commercial spaceflight companies and international
partners such as ESA, JAXA, and CSA.[77] The goal of this program is to land "the
first woman and the next man" on the lunar south pole region by 2025. Artemis
would be the first step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable
presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for companies to build a lunar economy,
and eventually sending humans to Mars.

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The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle was held over from the canceled
Constellation program for Artemis. Artemis I was the uncrewed
initial launch of Space Launch System (SLS) that would also send an
Orion spacecraft on a Distant Retrograde Orbit.[78]

The first tentative steps of returning to crewed lunar missions will be

Artemis II, which is to include the Orion crew module, propelled by
the SLS, and is to launch in 2025.[77][79] This mission is to be a 10-
day mission planned to briefly place a crew of four into a Lunar
flyby.[80] Artemis III aims to conduct the first crewed lunar landing
since Apollo 17, and is scheduled for no earlier than September 2026.

In support of the Artemis missions, NASA has been funding private

companies to land robotic probes on the lunar surface in a program Launch of Artemis I

known as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services. As of March

2022, NASA has awarded contracts for robotic lunar probes to
companies such as Intuitive Machines, Firefly Space Systems, and Astrobotic.[81]

On April 16, 2021, NASA announced they had selected the SpaceX Lunar Starship as its Human Landing
System. The agency's Space Launch System rocket will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft
for their multi-day journey to lunar orbit where they will transfer to SpaceX's Starship for the final leg of
their journey to the surface of the Moon.[82]

In November 2021, it was announced that the goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2024 had slipped to
no earlier than 2025 due to numerous factors. Artemis I launched on November 16, 2022, and returned to
Earth safely on December 11, 2022. As of April 2024, NASA plans to launch Artemis II in September
2025[83] and Artemis III in September 2026.[84] Additional Artemis missions, Artemis IV, Artemis V, and
Artemis VI are planned to launch between 2028 and 2031.[85]

NASA's next major space initiative is the construction of the Lunar Gateway, a small space station in lunar
orbit.[86] This space station will be designed primarily for non-continuous human habitation. The
construction of the Gateway is expected to begin in 2027 with the launch of the first two modules: the Power
and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO).[87] Operations on the
Gateway will begin with the Artemis IV mission, which plans to deliver a crew of four to the Gateway in
2028.

In 2017, NASA was directed by the congressional NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 to get
humans to Mars-orbit (or to the Martian surface) by the 2030s.[88][89]

Commercial LEO Development (2021–present)

The Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations program is an initiative by NASA to support work on
commercial space stations that the agency hopes to have in place by the end of the current decade to replace
the "International Space Station". The three selected companies are: Blue Origin (et al.) with their Orbital
Reef station concept, Nanoracks (et al.) with their Starlab Space Station concept, and Northrop Grumman
with a station concept based on the HALO-module for the Gateway station.[90]

Robotic exploration

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NASA has conducted many uncrewed and robotic spaceflight

programs throughout its history. More than 1,000 uncrewed missions
have been designed to explore the Earth and the Solar System.[91]

Mission selection process

NASA executes a mission development framework to plan, select,
Video of many of the uncrewed
develop, and operate robotic missions. This framework defines cost,
missions used to explore the outer
schedule and technical risk parameters to enable competitive selection
reaches of space
of missions involving mission candidates that have been developed by
principal investigators and their teams from across NASA, the
broader US Government research and development stakeholders, and industry. The mission development
construct is defined by four umbrella programs.[92]

Explorer program
The Explorer program derives its origin from the earliest days of the US Space program. In current form, the
program consists of three classes of systems – Small Explorers (SMEX), Medium Explorers (MIDEX), and
University-Class Explorers (UNEX) missions. The NASA Explorer program office provides frequent flight
opportunities for moderate cost innovative solutions from the heliophysics and astrophysics science areas.
The Small Explorer missions are required to limit cost to NASA to below $150M (2022 dollars). Medium
class explorer missions have typically involved NASA cost caps of $350M. The Explorer program office is
based at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.[93]

Discovery program
The NASA Discovery program develops and delivers robotic spacecraft solutions in the planetary science
domain. Discovery enables scientists and engineers to assemble a team to deliver a solution against a defined
set of objectives and competitively bid that solution against other candidate programs. Cost caps vary but
recent mission selection processes were accomplished using a $500M cost cap for NASA. The Planetary
Mission Program Office is based at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and manages both the
Discovery and New Frontiers missions. The office is part of the Science Mission Directorate.[94]

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on June 2, 2021, that the DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions
were selected to launch to Venus in the late 2020s, having beat out competing proposals for missions to
Jupiter's volcanic moon Io and Neptune's large moon Triton that were also selected as Discovery program
finalists in early 2020. Each mission has an estimated cost of $500 million, with launches expected between
2028 and 2030. Launch contracts will be awarded later in each mission's development.[95]

New Frontiers program

The New Frontiers program focuses on specific Solar System exploration goals identified as top priorities by
the planetary science community. Primary objectives include Solar System exploration employing medium
class spacecraft missions to conduct high-science-return investigations. New Frontiers builds on the
development approach employed by the Discovery program but provides for higher cost caps and schedule
durations than are available with Discovery. Cost caps vary by opportunity; recent missions have been
awarded based on a defined cap of $1 billion. The higher cost cap and projected longer mission durations
result in a lower frequency of new opportunities for the program – typically one every several years.
OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons are examples of New Frontiers missions.[96]

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NASA has determined that the next opportunity to propose for the fifth round of New Frontiers missions will
occur no later than the fall of 2024. Missions in NASA's New Frontiers Program tackle specific Solar
System exploration goals identified as top priorities by the planetary science community. Exploring the Solar
System with medium-class spacecraft missions that conduct high-science-return investigations is NASA's
strategy to further understand the Solar System.[97]

Large strategic missions

Large strategic missions (formerly called Flagship missions) are strategic missions that are typically
developed and managed by large teams that may span several NASA centers. The individual missions
become the program as opposed to being part of a larger effort (see Discovery, New Frontiers, etc.). The
James Webb Space Telescope is a strategic mission that was developed over a period of more than 20 years.
Strategic missions are developed on an ad-hoc basis as program objectives and priorities are established.
Missions like Voyager, had they been developed today, would have been strategic missions. Three of the
Great Observatories were strategic missions (the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Compton Gamma Ray
Observatory, and the Hubble Space Telescope). Europa Clipper is the next large strategic mission in
development by NASA.[98]

Planetary science missions

NASA continues to play a material role in exploration of the Solar
System as it has for decades. Ongoing missions have current science
objectives with respect to more than five extraterrestrial bodies within
the Solar System – Moon (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), Mars
(Perseverance rover), Jupiter (Juno), asteroid Bennu (OSIRIS-REx),
and Kuiper Belt Objects (New Horizons). The Juno extended mission
will make multiple flybys of the Jovian moon Io in 2023 and 2024
after flybys of Ganymede in 2021 and Europa in 2022. Voyager 1 and
Voyager 2 continue to provide science data back to Earth while
continuing on their outward journeys into interstellar space.

On November 26, 2011, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission

was successfully launched for Mars. The Curiosity rover successfully
landed on Mars on August 6, 2012, and subsequently began its search
for evidence of past or present life on Mars.[99][100][101]
Curiosity on the surface of Mars
In September 2014, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, which is part of the
Mars Scout Program, successfully entered Mars orbit and, as of
October 2022, continues its study of the atmosphere of Mars.[102][103] NASA's ongoing Mars investigations
include in-depth surveys of Mars by the Perseverance rover.

NASA's Europa Clipper, launched in October 2024, will study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of
flybys while in orbit around Jupiter. Dragonfly will send a mobile robotic rotorcraft to Saturn's biggest
moon, Titan.[104] As of May 2021, Dragonfly is scheduled for launch in June 2027.[105][106]

Astrophysics missions
The NASA Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics division manages the agency's astrophysics science
portfolio. NASA has invested significant resources in the development, delivery, and operations of various
forms of space telescopes. These telescopes have provided the means to study the cosmos over a large range

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of the electromagnetic spectrum.[107]

The Great Observatories that were launched in the 1980s and 1990s
have provided a wealth of observations for study by physicists across
the planent. The first of them, the Hubble Space Telescope, was
delivered to orbit in 1990 and continues to function, in part due to
prior servicing missions performed by the Space Shuttle.[108][109] The
NASA astrophysics spacecraft fleet,
other remaining active great observatories include the Chandra X-ray
credit NASA GSFC, 2022
Observatory (CXO), launched by STS-93 in July 1999 and is now in
a 64-hour elliptical orbit studying X-ray sources that are not readily
viewable from terrestrial observatories.[110]

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a space

observatory designed to improve the understanding of X-ray
production in objects such as neutron stars and pulsar wind nebulae,
as well as stellar and supermassive black holes.[111] IXPE launched in
December 2021 and is an international collaboration between NASA
and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). It is part of the NASA Small
Explorers program (SMEX) which designs low-cost spacecraft to
study heliophysics and astrophysics.[112] Chandra X-ray Observatory
(rendering), 2015
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was launched in November 2004
and is a gamma-ray burst observatory that also monitors the afterglow
in X-ray, and UV/Visible light at the location of a burst.[113] The mission was developed in a joint
partnership between Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and an international consortium from the United
States, United Kingdom, and Italy. Pennsylvania State University operates the mission as part of NASA's
Medium Explorer program (MIDEX).[114]

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (FGST) is another gamma-ray focused space observatory that was
launched to low Earth orbit in June 2008 and is being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy
observations.[115] In addition to NASA, the mission involves the United States Department of Energy, and
government agencies in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden.[116]

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched in December 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket, operates in a
halo orbit circling the Sun-Earth L2 point.[117][118][119] JWST's high sensitivity in the infrared spectrum and
its imaging resolution will allow it to view more distant, faint, or older objects than its predecessors,
including Hubble.[120]

Earth Sciences Program missions (1965–present)

NASA Earth Science is a large, umbrella program comprising a range
of terrestrial and space-based collection systems in order to better
understand the Earth system and its response to natural and human-
caused changes. Numerous systems have been developed and fielded
over several decades to provide improved prediction for weather,
climate, and other changes in the natural environment. Several of the
current operating spacecraft programs include: Aqua,[121] Aura,[122] Schematic of NASA Earth Science
Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2),[123] Gravity Recovery and Division operating satellite missions
Climate Experiment Follow-on (GRACE FO),[124] and Ice, Cloud, as of February 2015
and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2).[125]
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In addition to systems already in orbit, NASA is designing a new set of Earth Observing Systems to study,
assess, and generate responses for climate change, natural hazards, forest fires, and real-time agricultural
processes.[126] The GOES-T satellite (designated GOES-18 after launch) joined the fleet of US geostationary
weather monitoring satellites in March 2022.[127]

NASA also maintains the Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) program to oversee the life cycle of NASA's
Earth science data – from acquisition through processing and distribution. The primary goal of ESDS is to
maximize the scientific return from NASA's missions and experiments for research and applied scientists,
decision makers, and society at large.[128]

The Earth Science program is managed by the Earth Science Division of the NASA Science Mission
Directorate.

Space operations architecture

NASA invests in various ground and space-based infrastructures to support its science and exploration
mandate. The agency maintains access to suborbital and orbital space launch capabilities and sustains ground
station solutions to support its evolving fleet of spacecraft and remote systems.

Deep Space Network (1963–present)

The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) serves as the primary ground station solution for NASA's
interplanetary spacecraft and select Earth-orbiting missions.[129] The system employs ground station
complexes near Barstow, California, in Spain near Madrid, and in Australia near Canberra. The placement of
these ground stations approximately 120 degrees apart around the planet provides the ability for
communications to spacecraft throughout the Solar System even as the Earth rotates about its axis on a daily
basis. The system is controlled at a 24x7 operations center at JPL in Pasadena, California, which manages
recurring communications linkages with up to 40 spacecraft.[130] The system is managed by the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory.[129]

Near Space Network (1983–present)

The Near Space Network (NSN) provides telemetry, commanding,
ground-based tracking, data and communications services to a wide
range of customers with satellites in low earth orbit (LEO),
geosynchronous orbit (GEO), highly elliptical orbits (HEO), and
lunar orbits. The NSN accumulates ground station and antenna assets
from the Near-Earth Network and the Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite System (TDRS) which operates in geosynchronous orbit Near Earth Network Ground
providing continuous real-time coverage for launch vehicles and low Stations, 2021
earth orbit NASA missions.[131]

The NSN consists of 19 ground stations worldwide operated by the US Government and by contractors
including Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), and South African
National Space Agency (SANSA).[132] The ground network averages between 120 and 150 spacecraft
contacts a day with TDRS engaging with systems on a near-continuous basis as needed; the system is
managed and operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center.[133]

Sounding Rocket Program (1959–present)

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The NASA Sounding Rocket Program (NSRP) is located at the

Wallops Flight Facility and provides launch capability, payload
development and integration, and field operations support to execute
suborbital missions.[134] The program has been in operation since
1959 and is managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center using a
combined US Government and contractor team.[135] The NSRP team
conducts approximately 20 missions per year from both Wallops and
other launch locations worldwide to allow scientists to collect data
NASA sounding rocket launch from
"where it occurs". The program supports the strategic vision of the the Wallops Flight Facility
Science Mission Directorate collecting important scientific data for
earth science, heliophysics, and astrophysics programs.[134]

In June 2022, NASA conducted its first rocket launch from a commercial spaceport outside the US. It
launched a Black Brant IX from the Arnhem Space Centre in Australia.[136]

Launch Services Program (1990–present)

The NASA Launch Services Program (LSP) is responsible for procurement of launch
services for NASA uncrewed missions and oversight of launch integration and
launch preparation activity, providing added quality and mission assurance to meet
program objectives.[137] Since 1990, NASA has purchased expendable launch
vehicle launch services directly from commercial providers, whenever possible, for
its scientific and applications missions. Expendable launch vehicles can
accommodate all types of orbit inclinations and altitudes and are ideal vehicles for
launching Earth-orbit and interplanetary missions. LSP operates from Kennedy Space Center and falls under
the NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD).[138][139]

Aeronautics Research
The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) is one of five mission directorates within NASA,
the other four being the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, the Space Operations
Mission Directorate, the Science Mission Directorate, and the Space Technology Mission Directorate.[140]
The ARMD is responsible for NASA's aeronautical research, which benefits the commercial, military, and
general aviation sectors. ARMD performs its aeronautics research at four NASA facilities: Ames Research
Center and Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Glenn Research Center in Ohio, and Langley
Research Center in Virginia.[141]

NASA X-57 Maxwell aircraft (2016–present)

The NASA X-57 Maxwell is an experimental aircraft being developed by NASA to demonstrate the
technologies required to deliver a highly efficient all-electric aircraft.[142] The primary goal of the program is
to develop and deliver all-electric technology solutions that can also achieve airworthiness certification with
regulators. The program involves development of the system in several phases, or modifications, to
incrementally grow the capability and operability of the system. The initial configuration of the aircraft has
now completed ground testing as it approaches its first flights. In mid-2022, the X-57 was scheduled to fly
before the end of the year.[143] The development team includes staff from the NASA Armstrong, Glenn, and
Langley centers along with number of industry partners from the United States and Italy.[144]

Next Generation Air Transportation System (2007–present)

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NASA is collaborating with the Federal Aviation Administration and industry stakeholders to modernize the
United States National Airspace System (NAS). Efforts began in 2007 with a goal to deliver major
modernization components by 2025.[145] The modernization effort intends to increase the safety, efficiency,
capacity, access, flexibility, predictability, and resilience of the NAS while reducing the environmental
impact of aviation.[146] The Aviation Systems Division of NASA Ames operates the joint NASA/FAA North
Texas Research Station. The station supports all phases of NextGen research, from concept development to
prototype system field evaluation. This facility has already transitioned advanced NextGen concepts and
technologies to use through technology transfers to the FAA.[145] NASA contributions also include
development of advanced automation concepts and tools that provide air traffic controllers, pilots, and other
airspace users with more accurate real-time information about the nation's traffic flow, weather, and routing.
Ames' advanced airspace modeling and simulation tools have been used extensively to model the flow of air
traffic flow across the US, and to evaluate new concepts in airspace design, traffic flow management, and
optimization.[147]

Technology research

Nuclear in-space power and propulsion (ongoing)

NASA has made use of technologies such as the multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator
(MMRTG), which is a type of radioisotope thermoelectric generator used to power spacecraft.[148] Shortages
of the required plutonium-238 have curtailed deep space missions since the turn of the millennium.[149] An
example of a spacecraft that was not developed because of a shortage of this material was New Horizons
2.[149]

In July 2021, NASA announced contract awards for development of nuclear thermal propulsion reactors.
Three contractors will develop individual designs over 12 months for later evaluation by NASA and the US
Department of Energy.[150] NASA's space nuclear technologies portfolio are led and funded by its Space
Technology Mission Directorate.

In January 2023, NASA announced a partnership with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) on the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program to demonstrate a
NTR engine in space, an enabling capability for NASA missions to Mars.[151] In July 2023, NASA and
DARPA jointly announced the award of $499 million to Lockheed Martin to design and build an
experimental NTR rocket to be launched in 2027.[152]

Other initiatives
Free Space Optics. NASA contracted a third party to study the probability of using Free Space Optics (FSO)
to communicate with Optical (laser) Stations on the Ground (OGS) called laser-com RF networks for
satellite communications.[153]

Water Extraction from Lunar Soil. On July 29, 2020, NASA requested American universities to propose new
technologies for extracting water from the lunar soil and developing power systems. The idea will help the
space agency conduct sustainable exploration of the Moon.[154]

In 2024, NASA was tasked by the US Government to create a Time standard for the Moon. The standard is
to be called Coordinated Lunar Time and is expected to be finalized in 2026.[155]

Human Spaceflight Research (2005–present)

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NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) is

designed to study the effects of space on
human health and also to provide
countermeasures and technologies for human
space exploration.[156] The medical effects of
space exploration are reasonably limited in
low Earth orbit or in travel to the Moon.
Travel to Mars is significantly longer and deeper into space,
SpaceX Crew-4 astronaut
significant medical issues can result. These include bone density loss, Samantha Cristoforetti operating the
radiation exposure, vision changes, circadian rhythm disturbances, rHEALTH ONE on the ISS to
heart remodeling, and immune alterations. In order to study and address key health risks for space
diagnose these ill-effects, HRP has been tasked with identifying or travel.
developing small portable instrumentation with low mass, volume,
and power to monitor the health of astronauts.[157] To achieve this
aim, on May 13, 2022, NASA and SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts successfully tested its rHEALTH ONE
universal biomedical analyzer for its ability to identify and analyzer biomarkers, cells, microorganisms, and
proteins in a spaceflight environment.[158]

Planetary Defense (2016–present)

NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) in 2016 to
catalog and track potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEO), such as asteroids
and comets and develop potential responses and defenses against these threats.[159]
The PDCO is chartered to provide timely and accurate information to the government
and the public on close approaches by Potentially hazardous objects (PHOs) and any
potential for impact. The office functions within the Science Mission Directorate
Planetary Science Division.[160]

The PDCO augmented prior cooperative actions between the United States, the European Union, and other
nations which had been scanning the sky for NEOs since 1998 in an effort called Spaceguard.[161]

Near Earth object detection (1998–present)

From the 1990s NASA has run many NEO detection programs from Earth bases observatories, greatly
increasing the number of objects that have been detected. Many asteroids are very dark and those near the
Sun are much harder to detect from Earth-based telescopes which observe at night, and thus face away from
the Sun. NEOs inside Earth orbit only reflect a part of light also rather than potentially a "full Moon" when
they are behind the Earth and fully lit by the Sun.[162]

In 1998, the United States Congress gave NASA a mandate to detect 90% of near-Earth asteroids over 1 km
(0.62 mi) diameter (that threaten global devastation) by 2008.[163] This initial mandate was met by 2011.[164]
In 2005, the original USA Spaceguard mandate was extended by the George E. Brown, Jr. Near-Earth Object
Survey Act, which calls for NASA to detect 90% of NEOs with diameters of 140 m (460 ft) or greater, by
2020 (compare to the 20-meter Chelyabinsk meteor that hit Russia in 2013).[165] As of January 2020, it is
estimated that less than half of these have been found, but objects of this size hit the Earth only about once in
2,000 years.[166]

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In January 2020, NASA officials estimated it would take 30 years to find all objects meeting the 140 m
(460 ft) size criteria, more than twice the timeframe that was built into the 2005 mandate.[167] In June 2021,
NASA authorized the development of the NEO Surveyor spacecraft to reduce that projected duration to
achieve the mandate down to 10 years.[168][169]

Involvement in current robotic missions

NASA has incorporated planetary defense objectives into several ongoing missions.

In 1999, NASA visited 433 Eros with the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft which entered its orbit in 2000,
closely imaging the asteroid with various instruments at that time.[170] NEAR Shoemaker became the first
spacecraft to successfully orbit and land on an asteroid, improving our understanding of these bodies and
demonstrating our capacity to study them in greater detail.[171]

OSIRIS-REx used its suite of instruments to transmit radio tracking signals and capture optical images of
Bennu during its study of the asteroid that will help NASA scientists determine its precise position in the
solar system and its exact orbital path. As Bennu has the potential for recurring approaches to the Earth-
Moon system in the next 100–200 years, the precision gained from OSIRIS-REx will enable scientists to
better predict the future gravitational interactions between Bennu and our planet and resultant changes in
Bennu's onward flight path.[172][173]

The WISE/NEOWISE mission was launched by NASA JPL in 2009 as an infrared-wavelength astronomical
space telescope. In 2013, NASA repurposed it as the NEOWISE mission to find potentially hazardous near-
Earth asteroids and comets; its mission has been extended into 2023.[174][175]

NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHAPL) jointly developed the first planetary defense
purpose-built satellite, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) to test possible planetary defense
concepts.[176] DART was launched in November 2021 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 from California on a trajectory
designed to impact the Dimorphos asteroid. Scientists were seeking to determine whether an impact could
alter the subsequent path of the asteroid; a concept that could be applied to future planetary defense.[177] On
September 26, 2022, DART hit its target. In the weeks following impact, NASA declared DART a success,
confirming it had shortened Dimorphos' orbital period around Didymos by about 32 minutes, surpassing the
pre-defined success threshold of 73 seconds.[178][179]

NEO Surveyor, formerly called the Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) mission, is a space-based infrared
telescope under development to survey the Solar System for potentially hazardous asteroids.[180] The
spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2026.

Study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (2022–present)

In June 2022, the head of the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, confirmed the start of
NASA's UAP independent study team.[181] At a speech before the National Academies of Science,
Engineering and Medicine, Zurbuchen said the space agency would bring a scientific perspective to efforts
already underway by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies to make sense of dozens of such sightings. He
said it was "high-risk, high-impact" research that the space agency should not shy away from, even if it is a
controversial field of study.[182]

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Collaboration

NASA Advisory Council

In response to the Apollo 1 accident, which killed three astronauts in 1967, Congress directed NASA to form
an Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) to advise the NASA Administrator on safety issues and hazards
in NASA's air and space programs. In the aftermath of the Shuttle Columbia disaster, Congress required that
the ASAP submit an annual report to the NASA Administrator and to Congress.[183] By 1971, NASA had
also established the Space Program Advisory Council and the Research and Technology Advisory Council to
provide the administrator with advisory committee support. In 1977, the latter two were combined to form
the NASA Advisory Council (NAC).[184] The NASA Authorization Act of 2014 reaffirmed the importance of
ASAP.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

NASA and NOAA have cooperated for decades on the development, delivery and
operation of polar and geosynchronous weather satellites.[185] The relationship
typically involves NASA developing the space systems, launch solutions, and ground
control technology for the satellites and NOAA operating the systems and delivering
weather forecasting products to users. Multiple generations of NOAA Polar orbiting platforms have operated
to provide detailed imaging of weather from low altitude.[186] Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellites (GOES) provide near-real-time coverage of the western hemisphere to ensure accurate and timely
understanding of developing weather phenomenon.[187]

United States Space Force

The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the United
States Armed Forces, while the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for
civil spaceflight. NASA and the Space Force's predecessors in the Air Force have a
long-standing cooperative relationship, with the Space Force supporting NASA
launches out of Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and
Vandenberg Space Force Base, to include range support and rescue operations from
Task Force 45. [188] NASA and the Space Force also partner on matters such as defending Earth from
asteroids.[189] Space Force members can be NASA astronauts, with Colonel Michael S. Hopkins, the
commander of SpaceX Crew-1, commissioned into the Space Force from the International Space Station on
December 18, 2020.[190][191][192] In September 2020, the Space Force and NASA signed a memorandum of
understanding formally acknowledging the joint role of both agencies. This new memorandum replaced a
similar document signed in 2006 between NASA and Air Force Space Command.[193][194]

US Geological Survey
The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite
imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program.[195] On July 23, 1972, the
Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to
Landsat 1 in 1975.[196] The most recent satellite in the series, Landsat 9, was
launched on September 27, 2021.[197]
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The instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images. The images, archived in the
United States and at Landsat receiving stations around the world, are a unique resource for global change
research and applications in agriculture, cartography, geology, forestry, regional planning, surveillance and
education, and can be viewed through the US Geological Survey (USGS) "EarthExplorer" website. The
collaboration between NASA and USGS involves NASA designing and delivering the space system
(satellite) solution, launching the satellite into orbit with the USGS operating the system once in orbit.[195]
As of October 2022, nine satellites have been built with eight of them successfully operating in orbit.

European Space Agency (ESA)

NASA collaborates with the European Space Agency on a wide range of scientific
and exploration requirements.[198] From participation with the Space Shuttle (the
Spacelab missions) to major roles on the Artemis program (the Orion Service
Module), ESA and NASA have supported the science and exploration missions of
each agency. There are NASA payloads on ESA spacecraft and ESA payloads on NASA spacecraft. The
agencies have developed joint missions in areas including heliophysics (e.g. Solar Orbiter)[199] and
astronomy (Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope).[200]

Under the Artemis Gateway partnership, ESA will contribute habitation and refueling modules, along with
enhanced lunar communications, to the Gateway.[201][202] NASA and ESA continue to advance cooperation
in relation to Earth Science including climate change with agreements to cooperate on various missions
including the Sentinel-6 series of spacecraft[203]

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) cooperate on a range of
space projects. JAXA is a direct participant in the Artemis program, including the
Lunar Gateway effort. JAXA's planned contributions to Gateway include I-Hab's
environmental control and life support system, batteries, thermal control, and
imagery components, which will be integrated into the module by the European
Space Agency (ESA) prior to launch. These capabilities are critical for sustained Gateway operations during
crewed and uncrewed time periods.[204][205]

JAXA and NASA have collaborated on numerous satellite programs, especially in areas of Earth science.
NASA has contributed to JAXA satellites and vice versa. Japanese instruments are flying on NASA's Terra
and Aqua satellites, and NASA sensors have flown on previous Japanese Earth-observation missions. The
NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement mission was launched in 2014 and includes both NASA-
and JAXA-supplied sensors on a NASA satellite launched on a JAXA rocket. The mission provides the
frequent, accurate measurements of rainfall over the entire globe for use by scientists and weather
forecasters.[206]

Roscosmos
NASA and Roscosmos have cooperated on the development and operation of the
International Space Station since September 1993.[207] The agencies have used
launch systems from both countries to deliver station elements to orbit. Astronauts
and Cosmonauts jointly maintain various elements of the station. Both countries
provide access to the station via launch systems noting Russia's unique role as the
sole provider of delivery of crew and cargo upon retirement of the space shuttle in 2011 and prior to

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commencement of NASA COTS and crew flights. In July 2022, NASA and Roscosmos signed a deal to
share space station flights enabling crew from each country to ride on the systems provided by the other.[208]
Current geopolitical conditions in late 2022 make it unlikely that cooperation will be extended to other
programs such as Artemis or lunar exploration.[209]

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

In September 2014, NASA and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed a
partnership to collaborate on and launch a joint radar mission, the NASA-ISRO
Synthetic Aperature Radar (NISAR) mission. The mission is targeted to launch in
2024. NASA will provide the mission's L-band synthetic aperture radar, a high-rate
communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder and
payload data subsystem. ISRO provides the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the
launch vehicle and associated launch services.[210][211]

Artemis Accords
The Artemis Accords have been established to define a framework for cooperating in the peaceful
exploration and exploitation of the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and comets. The accords were drafted by NASA
and the US State Department and are executed as a series of bilateral agreements between the United States
and the participating countries.[212][213] As of September 2022, 21 countries have signed the accords. They
are Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea,
Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Ukraine,
the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[214][215]

China National Space Administration

The Wolf Amendment was passed by the US Congress into law in 2011 and prevents NASA from engaging
in direct, bilateral cooperation with the Chinese government and China-affiliated organizations such as the
China National Space Administration without the explicit authorization from Congress and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. The law has been renewed annually since by inclusion in annual appropriations
bills.[216]

Management

Leadership
The agency's administration is located at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and provides overall
guidance and direction.[217] Except under exceptional circumstances, NASA civil service employees are
required to be US citizens.[218] NASA's administrator is nominated by the President of the United States
subject to the approval of the US Senate,[219] and serves at the President's pleasure as a senior space science
advisor. The current administrator is Janet Petro, appointed by President Donald Trump, since January 20,
2025.

Strategic plan
NASA operates with four FY2022 strategic goals.[220]
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Expand human knowledge through new scientific discoveries

Extend human presence to the Moon and on towards Mars for
sustainable long-term exploration, development, and utilization
Catalyze economic growth and drive innovation to address
national challenges
Enhance capabilities and operations to catalyze current and future
mission success

Budget
NASA budget requests are developed by NASA and approved by the
administration prior to submission to the US Congress. Authorized budgets Administrator Janet Petro
are those that have been included in enacted appropriations bills that are (2025–present)
approved by both houses of Congress and enacted into law by the US
president.[221]

NASA fiscal year budget requests and authorized budgets are listed below.

Budget Request Authorized Budget US Government

Year
in bil. US$ in bil. US$ Employees

2018 $19.092[222] $20.736[223] 17,551[224]

2019 $19.892[223] $21.500[225] 17,551[226]

2020 $22.613[225] $22.629[227] 18,048[228]

2021 $25.246[227] $23.271[229] 18,339[230]

2022 $24.802[229] $24.041[231] 18,400 est

Organization
NASA funding and priorities are developed through its six Mission
Directorates.

Associate % of
Mission Directorate
Administrator Budget[229]
Aeronautics Research
(ARMD) Catherine Koerner[232] 4%

Exploration Systems
(ESDMD) Jim Free[233] 28%

Space Operations (SOMD) Ken Bowersox[234] 17%

Science (SMD) Nicola Fox[235] 32% Budget allocations to

Mission Directorates
Clayton Turner
Space Technology (STMD) 5%
(acting)[236]
Science (32%)
Mission Support (MSD) [237] 14%
Robert Gibbs Exploration Systems (28%)
Space Operations (17%)
Center-wide activities such as the Chief Engineer and Safety and Mission Support (14%)
Mission Assurance organizations are aligned to the headquarters Space Technology (5%)
function. The MSD budget estimate includes funds for these HQ Aeronautics Research (4%)

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functions. The administration operates 10 major field

centers with several managing additional subordinate
facilities across the country. Each center is led by a
director (data below valid as of December 23, 2024). Glenn
Ames Goddard
Langley
Primary Armstrong
Field Center Director Marshall
Location JPL
Stennis
Ames Research Moffett Field, [238]
Center California Eugene Tu
Johnson Kennedy

Armstrong Flight Edwards, Bradley

Research Center California Flick[239] NASA field center locations

Glenn Research James

Cleveland, Ohio
Center Kenyon[240]

Goddard Space Greenbelt, Makenzie

Flight Center Maryland Lystrup[241]
La Cañada
Jet Propulsion Laurie
Flintridge,
Laboratory
California Leshin[242]

Johnson Space Vanessa

Houston, Texas
Center Wyche[243]
Kennedy Space Merritt Island,
Center Florida Janet Petro[244]

Langley Research Hampton, Dawn Schaible

Center Virginia (acting)[236]

Marshall Space Huntsville, Joseph

Flight Center Alabama Pelfrey[245]
Stennis Space Hancock County,
Center Mississippi John Bailey[246]

Sustainability

Environmental impact
The exhaust gases produced by rocket propulsion systems, both in Earth's atmosphere and in space, can
adversely affect the Earth's environment. Some hypergolic rocket propellants, such as hydrazine, are highly
toxic prior to combustion, but decompose into less toxic compounds after burning. Rockets using
hydrocarbon fuels, such as kerosene, release carbon dioxide and soot in their exhaust.[247] Carbon dioxide
emissions are insignificant compared to those from other sources; on average, the United States consumed
803 million US gal (3.0 million m3) of liquid fuels per day in 2014, while a single Falcon 9 rocket first stage
burns around 25,000 US gallons (95 m3) of kerosene fuel per launch.[248][249] Even if a Falcon 9 were
launched every single day, it would only represent 0.006% of liquid fuel consumption (and carbon dioxide
emissions) for that day. Additionally, the exhaust from LOx- and LH2- fueled engines, like the SSME, is
almost entirely water vapor.[250] NASA addressed environmental concerns with its canceled Constellation
program in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act in 2011.[251] In contrast, ion engines use
harmless noble gases like xenon for propulsion.[252][253]

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An example of NASA's environmental efforts is the NASA Sustainability Base. Additionally, the
Exploration Sciences Building was awarded the LEED Gold rating in 2010.[254] On May 8, 2003, the
Environmental Protection Agency recognized NASA as the first federal agency to directly use landfill gas to
produce energy at one of its facilities—the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.[255]

In 2018, NASA along with other companies including Sensor Coating Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Monitor
Coating and UTRC launched the project CAUTION (CoAtings for Ultra High Temperature detectION). This
project aims to enhance the temperature range of the Thermal History Coating up to 1,500 °C (2,730 °F) and
beyond. The final goal of this project is improving the safety of jet engines as well as increasing efficiency
and reducing CO2 emissions.[256]

Climate change
NASA also researches and publishes on climate change.[257] Its statements concur with the global scientific
consensus that the climate is warming.[258] Bob Walker, who has advised former US President Donald
Trump on space issues, has advocated that NASA should focus on space exploration and that its climate
study operations should be transferred to other agencies such as NOAA. Former NASA atmospheric scientist
J. Marshall Shepherd countered that Earth science study was built into NASA's mission at its creation in the
1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act.[259] NASA won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Green
in the category Web.[260]

STEM Initiatives
Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa). Since 2011, the ELaNa program has provided opportunities
for NASA to work with university teams to test emerging technologies and commercial-off-the-shelf
solutions by providing launch opportunities for developed CubeSats using NASA procured launch
opportunities.[261] By example, two NASA-sponsored CubeSats launched in June 2022 on a Virgin Orbit
LauncherOne vehicle as the ELaNa 39 mission.[262]

Cubes in Space. NASA started an annual competition in 2014 named "Cubes in Space".[263] It is jointly
organized by NASA and the global education company I Doodle Learning, with the objective of teaching
school students aged 11–18 to design and build scientific experiments to be launched into space on a NASA
rocket or balloon. On June 21, 2017, the world's smallest satellite, KalamSAT, was launched.[264]

Use of the metric system

US law requires the International System of Units to be used in all US Government programs, "except where
impractical".[265]

In 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon using a mix of United States customary units and metric units. In the
1980s, NASA started the transition towards the metric system, but was still using both systems in the
1990s.[266][267] On September 23, 1999, a mixup between NASA's use of SI units and Lockheed Martin
Space's use of US units resulted in the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter.[268]

In August 2007, NASA stated that all future missions and explorations of the Moon would be done entirely
using the SI system. This was done to improve cooperation with space agencies of other countries that
already use the metric system.[269] As of 2007, NASA is predominantly working with SI units, but some
projects still use US units, and some, including the International Space Station, use a mix of both.[270]

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Media presence

NASA TV
Approaching 40 years of service, the NASA TV channel airs content ranging from live coverage of crewed
missions to video coverage of significant milestones for operating robotic spacecraft (e.g. rover landings on
Mars) and domestic and international launches.[271] The channel is delivered by NASA and is broadcast by
satellite and over the Internet. The system initially started to capture archival footage of important space
events for NASA managers and engineers and expanded as public interest grew. The Apollo 8 Christmas Eve
broadcast while in orbit around the Moon was received by more than a billion people.[272] NASA's video
transmission of the Apollo 11 Moon landing was awarded a primetime Emmy in commemoration of the 40th
anniversary of the landing.[273] The channel is a product of the US Government and is widely available
across many television and Internet platforms.[274]

NASAcast
NASAcast is the official audio and video podcast of the NASA website. Created in late 2005, the podcast
service contains the latest audio and video features from the NASA web site, including NASA TV's This
Week at NASA and educational materials produced by NASA. Additional NASA podcasts, such as
Science@NASA, are also featured and give subscribers an in-depth look at content by subject matter.[275]

NASA EDGE
NASA EDGE is a video podcast which explores different missions,
technologies and projects developed by NASA. The program was
released by NASA on March 18, 2007, and, as of August 2020, there
have been 200 vodcasts produced. It is a public outreach vodcast
sponsored by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and
based out of the Exploration and Space Operations Directorate at
Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The NASA EDGE
team takes an insider's look at current projects and technologies from
NASA facilities around the United States, and it is depicted through NASA EDGE broadcasting live from
personal interviews, on-scene broadcasts, computer animations, and White Sands Missile Range in 2010
personal interviews with top scientists and engineers at NASA.[note 2]

The show explores the contributions NASA has made to society as well as the progress of current projects in
materials and space exploration. NASA EDGE vodcasts can be downloaded from the NASA website and
from iTunes.

In its first year of production, the show was downloaded over 450,000 times. As of February 2010, the
average download rate is more than 420,000 per month, with over one million downloads in December 2009
and January 2010.[277]

NASA and the NASA EDGE have also developed interactive programs designed to complement the vodcast.
The Lunar Electric Rover App allows users to drive a simulated Lunar Electric Rover between objectives,
and it provides information about and images of the vehicle.[278] The NASA EDGE Widget provides a
graphical user interface for accessing NASA EDGE vodcasts, image galleries, and the program's Twitter
feed, as well as a live NASA news feed.[279]
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is a website provided by NASA and Michigan Technological
University (MTU). It reads: "Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along
with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer."[280] The photograph does not necessarily
correspond to a celestial event on the exact day that it is displayed, and images are sometimes repeated.[281]
These often relate to current events in astronomy and space exploration. The text has several hyperlinks to
more pictures and websites for more information. The images are either visible spectrum photographs,
images taken at non-visible wavelengths and displayed in false color, video footage, animations, artist's
conceptions, or micrographs that relate to space or cosmology.

Past images are stored in the APOD Archive, with the first image appearing on June 16, 1995.[282] This
initiative has received support from NASA, the National Science Foundation, and MTU. The images are
sometimes authored by people or organizations outside NASA, and therefore APOD images are often
copyrighted, unlike many other NASA image galleries.[283]

NASA+
In July 2023, NASA announced a new streaming service known as NASA+. It launched on November 8,
2023, and has live coverage of launches, documentaries and original programs. According to NASA, it will
be free of ads and subscription fees. It will be a part of the NASA app on iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV,
Roku and Apple TV as well as on the web on desktop and mobile devices.[284][285][286]

Gallery
NASA spacecraft observations of the Solar System

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Sun image by Planet Mercury Planet Venus Planet Earth Moon image by
Solar Dynamics image by image by Mariner image by Apollo Apollo 8 crew, 1968
Observatory, 2010 MESSENGER, 10, 1974 17 crew, 1972
2008

Planet Mars Asteroid 433 Dwarf planet Planet Jupiter Moon Io (Jupiter)
image by Viking Eros image by Ceres image by image by Juno, image by Galileo,
1, 1976 NEAR Dawn, 2015 2019 1999
Shoemaker,
2000

Planet Saturn Moon Mimas Planet Uranus by Moon Miranda Planet Neptune
image by Cassini, (Saturn) image by Voyager 2, 1986 (Uranus) image image by
2016 Cassini, 2010 by Voyager 2, Voyager 2, 1989
1986

Dwarf planet Moon Charon

Pluto image by (Pluto) image by
New Horizons, New Horizons,
2015 2015

NASA Great Observatory images

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Helix Nebula by 1901 GK Persei Carina Nebula by Stephens quintet

Spitzer Space supernova by Hubble Space by James Webb
Telescope, 2007 Chandra X-ray Telescope, 2010 Space
Observatory, 2015 Telescope, Jul
2022

NASA spacecraft

Comparison of Apollo, Surveyor 3, Pete Space Shuttle Endeavor in

Gemini, and Mercury Conrad, and Apollo orbit, 2008
systems[note 3] 12 on the Moon,
1969

Hubble Space Telescope James Webb Space Opportunity rover on

released in orbit after Telescope now in orbit, surface of Mars
servicing, 2009. 2022. (rendering), 2003

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Curiosity rover self-portrait Perseverance rover Voyager 2, now 19.5

on Mars, 2021 during Mars skycrane billion kilometers from
landing, February the Earth, July 2022
2021

Orion spacecraft and

European Service Module
testing, 2020

NASA space launch systems

Saturn V and Titan III/Centaur Delta II Space Shuttle Space Launch

Apollo 11 at launching launching (STS-124) System and
launch, Jul 1969 Voyager 2 Spirit rover, during launch, Artemis I at
spacecraft, Jul Jun 2003 May 2008 launch, Nov
1977 2022

Concepts and plans

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Concept of space Space Tug concept, NASA Interstellar Langley's

tug cargo transport 1970s probe concept, Mars Ice
to a Nuclear 2022 Dome design
Shuttle, 1960s for a Mars
habitat, 2010s

Lunar Gateway space NASA lunar outpost NASA concept for crewed
station, 2020 concept, 2006 floating outpost on Venus,
2014

NASA concept for

2069 Alpha Centauri
solar sail mission

See also
United States
portal
Politics portal

Spaceflight portal

Rocketry portal

List of crewed spacecraft

List of NASA aircraft
List of space disasters
List of United States rockets
Category: NASA people
NASA Advanced Space Transportation Program
NASA Art Program

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NASA Clean Air Study – 1989 study of plants removing air pollutants
NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts – NASA program
NASA Research Park – Research park near San Jose, California
TechPort (NASA) – Technology Portfolio System

Explanatory notes
1. Orbital Sciences was awarded a CRS contract in 2008. In 2015, Orbital Sciences became
Orbital ATK through a business merger. Orbital ATK was awarded a CRS-2 contract in 2016. In
2018, Orbital ATK was acquired by Northrop Grumman.
2. NASA EDGE Cast and Crew: Chris Giersch (Host); Blair Allen (Co-host and senior producer);
Franklin Fitzgerald (News anchor and "everyman"); Jaqueline Mirielle Cortez (Special co-host);
Ron Beard (Director and "set therapist"); and Don Morrison (Audio/video engineer)[276]
3. From left to right: Launch vehicle of Apollo (Saturn 5), Gemini (Titan 2) and Mercury (Atlas).
Left, top-down: Spacecraft of Apollo, Gemini and Mercury. The Saturn IB and Mercury-
Redstone launch vehicles are left out.

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Further reading
Alexander, Joseph K. Science Advice to NASA: Conflict, Consensus, Partnership, Leadership
(2019) excerpt ([Link]
k/dp/B07RF7Q5HF/)
Bizony, Piers et al. The NASA Archives. 60 Years in Space (2019)
Brady, Kevin M. "NASA Launches Houston into Orbit How America's Space Program
Contributed to Southeast Texas's Economic Growth, Scientific Development, and
Modernization during the Late Twentieth Century." Journal of the West (2018) 57#4 pp 13–54.
Bromberg, Joan Lisa. NASA and the Space Industry (Johns Hopkins UP, 1999).
Clemons, Jack. Safely to Earth: The Men and Women Who Brought the Astronauts Home
(2018) excerpt ([Link]
6020/)
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External links
Official website ([Link]
NASA Engineering and Safety Center ([Link]
NASA History Division ([Link]
v/) (archived March 2, 2000)
Monthly look at Exploration events ([Link]
_main.html) Archived ([Link]
exploration/thismonth/this_month_main.html) March 8, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
NODIS: NASA Online Directives Information System ([Link]
NTRS: NASA Technical Reports Server ([Link]
NASA History and the Challenge of Keeping the Contemporary Past ([Link]
v/[Link])
NASA podcasts ([Link]
NASA Watch, an agency watchdog site ([Link]
Works by or about NASA ([Link]
+and+Space+Administration%22+OR+%22NASA%22%29) at the Internet Archive
How NASA works ([Link] on [Link]

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