NASAs

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is a United States government agency responsible for the civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and was created in response to the Sputnik era and the scientific and strategic aims of space exploration. NASA conducts scientific investigations, develops new technologies, and advances human spaceflight.

The agency is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with multiple field centers and facilities across the United States. Major centers include the Johnson Space Center (human spaceflight), Kennedy Space Center (launch operations), Johnson Space Center (astronaut training and mission control), Goddard Space Flight Center (space science), Langley Research Center (aeronautics research), Ames Research Center (advanced technologies), Marshall Space Flight Center ( propulsion and spacecraft systems), Stennis Space Center (rocket propulsion testing), and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (operated for NASA by Caltech for unmanned planetary missions). NASA also collaborates with international partners and the private sector, including space agencies such as ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA, and CSA, and commercial partners under programs like the Commercial Crew and Cargo programs.

NASA’s core missions span human spaceflight, Earth and space science, and aeronautics research. Notable achievements include the Apollo Moon landings, the Space Shuttle program, the Hubble Space Telescope, and a wide array of Mars rovers and outer-planet missions. More recently, the agency has led the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon and to enable sustainable exploration, with plans for future crewed missions and expanded international cooperation.