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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Space Mountain at 50: Five nods to NASA from the Walt Disney World ride
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What's next for the 2 private landers SpaceX just launched toward the moon?
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket just launched lunar landers built by Firefly Aerospace and Tokyo-based company ispace. What's next for the two craft?
SpaceX launches 2 private lunar landers to the moon (video, photos)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched lunar landers for Firefly Aerospace and the Japanese company ispace early this morning (Jan. 15).
Here's what NASA is sending to the moon on Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander
NASA is sending a suite of science and technology demonstrations on Firefly Aerospace's Ghost Riders in the Sky mission to the surface of the moon.
What's flying to the moon on ispace's Resilience lunar lander?
Tokyo-based company ispace's Resilience lunar lander will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday (Jan. 15). Here's what the spacecraft is carrying.
