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NASA

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The 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

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mars surface

Rare Scottish mineral may indicate life on Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (21) | comments 6

(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.


Sandtrapped Rover Makes a Big Discovery

Sandtrapped Rover Makes a Big Discovery

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (56) | comments 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.


A NASA satellite image of iceberg B17B (C), floating southwest off the West Australian coast

'Monster' iceberg shedding hundreds of offshoots

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (9) | comments 2

An island-sized iceberg is breaking up as it drifts closer to Australia, producing hundreds of smaller slabs spread over a massive area of ocean, experts said Monday.


Fermi sees brightest-ever blazar flare

Fermi sees brightest-ever blazar flare

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (10) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- A galaxy located billions of light-years away is commanding the attention of NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and astronomers around the globe. Thanks to a series of flares that began ...


NASA's WISE infrared satellite to reveal new galaxies, stars, asteroids

NASA's WISE infrared satellite to reveal new galaxies, stars, asteroids

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Data from the satellite, says principal investigator and UCLA professor Edward Wright, will help scientists answer fundamental questions about the history of our solar system, the Milky Way ...


Ares I-X rocket

NASA puzzled why parachutes failed in rocket test

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (5) | comments 3

(AP) -- NASA still isn't sure why two parachutes failed during a test flight of its prototype moon rocket just over a month ago.


The International Space Station

NASA: Floating 'junk' no threat to space station

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 28, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(AP) -- NASA says a piece of old space junk that it's been tracking for a few days is no threat to the International Space Station.


Mars Reconnaissance Orbite

Mars Reconnaissance Orbite Team Plans Uplink of Protective Files

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The team operating NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter plans to uplink protective files to the spacecraft next week as one step toward resuming the orbiter's research and relay activities.


Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on supply mission (AP)

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on supply mission

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew began an 11-day delivery flight to the International Space Station on Monday with a 2:28 p.m. EST launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in ...


Ghostly 'Spokes' Puff Out From Saturn's Ring's

Ghostly 'Spokes' Puff Out From Saturn's Ring's (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Massive, bright clouds of tiny ice particles hover above the darkened rings of Saturn in an image captured by the Cassini spacecraft on Sept. 22, 2009, around the time of Saturn's equinox. ...


NASA Outlines Recent Breakthroughs in Greenhouse Gas Research

NASA Outlines Recent Breakthroughs in Greenhouse Gas Research (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created 17 hours ago | popularity 3.4 / 5 (5) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers studying carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas and a key driver of global climate change, now have a new tool at their disposal: daily global measurements of carbon dioxide ...


NASA tech zooms in on water and land

NASA tech zooms in on water and land

Space & Earth / Environment

created 20 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

In a pilot project that could help better manage the planet's strained natural resources, space-age technologies are helping a Washington state community monitor its water availability. NASA satellites and ...


Laurence made landfall in Western Australia

Laurence made landfall in Western Australia

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created 22 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Tropical Cyclone Laurence made landfall in Northwestern Australia this morning (Eastern Time) December 15, 2009. NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Laurence just before the center of the storm ...


WISE Launch Delayed 24 Hours

WISE Launch Delayed 24 Hours

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Liftoff of a Delta II rocket and its NASA payload, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), has been delayed 24 hours. At the soonest, launch now will be Saturday, Dec. 12, during a ...


The Meandering Channels of Mars

The Meandering Channels of Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 5

Sinuous channels on the Martian surface may be evidence of relatively recent rainfall. Researchers plan to test this hypothesis by studying sinuous streams on Earth.