NASA is the space agency run by the United States to oversee American space exploration, research and technology. NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was founded in 1958 as a civilian agency for U.S. space exploration. Prior to 1958, the agency's progenitor was known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. NASA develops, builds and launches missions to study the Earth, moon and sun, as well as the entire solar system and beyond. The agency has its headquarters in Washington D.C., with major centers in Florida (the Kennedy Space Center for launches) and Houston (the Johnson Space Center, home of the astronaut corps). Other centers are spread across the country for scientific research, test flights and spacecraft manufacturing. NASA's current chief is Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who is leading the agency's mission of returning astronauts to the moon and sending them on to Mars. See the latest NASA news.
Related Topics: Apollo Program, China Space Program, Incredible Space Tech, International Space Station, Interstellar Travel
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Latest about NASA
'Take care of our station. It's our everything.' Russian cosmonaut hands control of ISS over to Japanese astronaut (video)
Russia's Alexey Ovchinin handed the keys of the International Space Station to Japanese spaceflyer Takuya Onishi in a change-of-command ceremony today (April 18).
'It's very pro-commercial space right now': An industry insider's off-Earth status report
Space.com caught up recently with Dave Cavossa, president of the Commercial Space Federation, to discuss the state of the U.S. private space industry.
NASA continues stacking its giant Artemis 2 SLS moon rocket (photos)
NASA's next moon rocket is stacking higher and higher at the Kennedy Space Center, as the SLS stage adapter and interim cryogenic propulsion stage arrive in the VAB.
'Planetary defense is knowing what's out there and what could do harm to us.' Meet the scientist who helped build NASA's asteroid response plan
A Q&A with Lindley Johnson, a pioneer in blueprinting warning and response scenarios to any potential impact of Earth by an asteroid or comet.
James Webb Space Telescope discovers most distant and earliest Milky Way 'twin' ever seen. Meet dragon-galaxy Zhúlóng (image)
The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted the most distant spiral galaxy ever seen, a "Milky Way twin" that existed 1 billion years after the Big Bang.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit and 2 cosmonauts will return to Earth on April 19
NASA astronaut Don Pettit and two cosmonaut colleagues will return to Earth from the International Space Station on Saturday night (April 19), if all goes to plan.
'The Dream is [still] Alive': First IMAX film shot in space at 40 years
James Neihouse had one more thing to share. He pulled out a frame displaying strips of tape, each of which had notes from astronauts who filmed the IMAX movie "The Dream is Alive" 40 years ago.
Trump administration could slash NASA science budget by 50%, reports suggest
Budget passback documents reportedly suggest the White House wants to cut NASA's budget by half — possibly closing down Goddard Space Flight Center.
Elon Musk's DOGE team given 'alarming degree' of access to NASA systems, House Democrats say
"None of these three individuals possess the slightest background or experience in space policy or government service."
Rookie NASA astronaut Chris Williams will launch to the ISS on a Russian rocket later this year
NASA astronaut Chris Williams will launch on his first mission to the International Space Station, on a Russian Soyuz rocket with two cosmonaut colleagues, as early as November.
