Related topics: international space station , astronauts , satellite , spacecraft , space shuttle
NASA
hideThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, pronounced /ˈnæsə/) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958 from its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). NASA has led U.S. efforts for space exploration ever since, resulting in the Apollo missions to the Moon, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. Currently NASA is supporting the International Space Station and developing new Ares I and IV launch vehicles.
In addition to the space program, it is also responsible for long-term civilian and military aerospace research. NASA Science is focused on better understanding Earth itself through the Earth Observing System, advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program, exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic missions such as New Horizons, and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs. Since February 2006 NASA's self-described mission statement is to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research."
For more information about NASA, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with nasa
Statistics experts reject global cooling claims
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 26, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (92) |
23
(AP) -- Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book.
Sandtrapped Rover Makes a Big Discovery
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 03, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (56) |
11
Homer's Iliad tells the story of Troy, a city besieged by the Greeks in the Trojan War. Today, a lone robot sits besieged in the sands of Troy while engineers and scientists plot its escape.
Voyager makes an interstellar discovery
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 26, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (42) |
14
The solar system is passing through an interstellar cloud that physics says should not exist. In the Dec. 24th issue of Nature, a team of scientists reveal how NASA's Voyager spacecraft have solved the mystery.
Success in 'space elevator' competition (Update 3)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 05, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (37) |
54
(AP) -- A robot powered by a ground-based laser beam climbed a long cable dangling from a helicopter on Wednesday to qualify for prize money in a $2 million competition to test the potential reality of the ...
LCROSS Impact Finds Water on the Moon
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
15
(PhysOrg.com) -- The argument that the moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water. Secrets the moon has been holding, for perhaps billions of years, are now being revealed to the delight of scientists ...
Astronomers explore 'last blank space' on map of the Universe
Oct 28, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (30) |
71
(PhysOrg.com) -- The most distant object ever discovered is described in this week's edition of the science journal Nature. Two international teams of astronomers report their observations of a gamma-ray burst ...
NASA scientist: No Doomsday in 2012
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 20, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (32) |
21
According to NASA scientist David Morrison, the widespread Internet rumor that the world will end in 2012 due to some astronomical event is a hoax. Dr. Morrison attributes the hype to 'cosmophobia' fueled ...
Are Sunspots Disappearing?
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 03, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (23) |
15
The sun is in the pits of the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Weeks and sometimes whole months go by without even a single tiny sunspot. The quiet has dragged out for more than two years, prompting ...
A Mars Rover Named 'Curiosity'
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 30, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (18) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- If you found your grandmother's diary, tattered and dust covered, up in the attic, would you read it? Of course you would. Granny was a pistol! Brush off the dust, open up the little book, ...
Mystery Source of Solar Wind Heating Identified
Jul 17, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (18) |
14
(PhysOrg.com) -- The solar wind is hotter than it should be, and for decades researchers have puzzled over the unknown source of energy that heats it. In a paper published in the June 12 issue of Physical Re ...
Rare Scottish mineral may indicate life on Mars
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 10, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (22) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) scientists is looking for clues about life on Mars in an earthy clay mineral found only in Aberdeenshire in Scotland.
Will Kepler find habitable moons?
Sep 03, 2009 |
5 / 5 (15) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- Since the launch of the NASA Kepler Mission earlier this year, astronomers have been keenly awaiting the first detection of an Earth-like planet around another star. Now, in an echo of science ...
Moon crash: Public yawns, scientists celebrate
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 10, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (19) |
11
(AP) -- NASA's great lunar fireworks finale fizzled. After gearing up for the space agency's much-hyped mission to hurl two spacecraft into the moon, the public turned away from the sky Friday anything but ...
Obama space panel says moon return plan is a no-go (Update)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 08, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (15) |
40
(AP) -- A White House panel of independent space experts says NASA's return-to-the-moon plan just won't fly.
Spacecraft Could Save Earth from Asteroids
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 04, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (17) |
38
(PhysOrg.com) -- British space engineers working for a space company in Stevenage in England, have designed a "gravity tractor" spacecraft to deflect any asteroids threatening to collide with Earth. The announcement ...
