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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Private FLIP moon rover replaces NASA's cancelled VIPER on 2025 lunar south pole mission
Astrolab's FLIP moon rover has replaced NASA's VIPER vehicle on the first-ever mission of Astrobotic's Griffin lunar lander, which is scheduled to launch in late 2025.
Astronomers unsure what caused 'weird explosion' seen by Einstein Probe's X-ray eye
Was a powerful cosmic explosion seen by the Einstein Probe launched by a supermassive black hole snacking on a star, by a gamma-ray burst, or by something entirely new?
NASA just gave these 9 companies $24 million to dream up Artemis moon mission tech
A bevy of space companies will lend a hand to NASA's moon goals under new contracts centered around the agency's upcoming Artemis missions.
NASA's launching a new sun mission this month: 'PUNCH is going to see a total solar eclipse'
Scheduled to launch on Feb. 27, NASA's PUNCH mission could revolutionize space weather forecasts, unify the solar corona and the heliosphere, and help improve astronomy techniques.
VIPER back from the dead? NASA asks US companies to partner on ice-hunting moon rover
NASA is asking U.S. companies for proposals to move forward with the ice-hunting VIPER moon rover, a $450 million project the agency canceled last summer.
NASA pauses work by key space science groups amid Trump executive orders
The space agency's planetary science analysis groups must pause while NASA checks if they comply with Trump's orders.
Trump administration removes Apollo moon rock from White House Oval Office
Whether President Donald Trump still supports returning astronauts to the lunar surface remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: the moon no longer has a place in his White House.
