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
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As 'Apollo 13' turns 30, we talk to legendary NASA flight director Gerry Griffin who helped make the film as realistic as possible.
SpaceX Axiom-4 mission to the ISS: Live updates
Read the latest news about SpaceX's Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station.
NASA exoplanet-hunting spacecraft and citizen scientists discover a cool new alien world
With the aid of NASA's exoplanet-hunter TESS, citizen scientists have discovered a new gas giant that is cool, literally and figuratively.
Hello, neighbor! See the Andromeda galaxy like never before in stunning new image from NASA's Chandra telescope (video)
Andromeda never looked as good as it does in a new image from the Chandra X-ray observatory and a range of powerful telescopes. A fitting tribute to dark matter pioneer Vera Rubin.
How a fake astronaut fooled the world, broke women's hearts, and landed in jail
For years, Robert Hunt convinced everyone he could that he was a NASA astronaut. The truth was anything but.
NASA's been pulling out of major astronomy meetings — and scientists are feeling the effects
"We are given rules by our own institutions about what we can and cannot say."
Astronomers thought a mysterious radio burst came from deep space. It was actually a dead NASA satellite
A mysterious and powerful blast of radio waves detected last year, suspected to originate far beyond the Milky Way came from a long-dead NASA spacecraft in Earth's orbit.
