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NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the primary civilian space agency of the United States. Founded in 1958, NASA has more than 17,000 employees nationwide and an annual budget of $24.4B. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union sought to develop rockets capable of launching satellites into low Earth orbit, marking the beginning of a nearly two-decade-long Space Race between the two powers. After the USSR took a decisive lead by launching the first satellite into orbit in 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation establishing NASA the following year, which consolidated several existing programs. In the decades that followed, NASA became the world's leading space program: landing the first humans on the moon, conducting early crewed lunar orbits and long-duration missions, deploying landmark space telescopes, and laying the groundwork for a permanent human presence in orbit through space stations. NASA plans to return humans to the moon in the late 2020s through its Artemis program.Explore NASA

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NASA's 1997 Mars rover was named in Truth's honorIn 1997, NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission landed on the red planet. Its rover was named Sojourner in Truth's honor—a name selected by a 12-year-old student in a nationwide essay contest about a historical hero. NASA Nasal congestion is a common side effect of pregnancy, called pregnancy rhinitisIn one study, almost 100% of pregnant women experienced it in their third trimester. The congestion is likely due to multiple factors, including hormonal changes and neurophysiological factors. The symptom may also worsen at night due to circadian factors or when lying down due to gravitational redistribution. Treatments include saline nasal irrigation and the use of nasal strips to widen the nasal valve area. National Library of Medicine Nasal hairs, called vibrissae, help protect the body from particulate matter and other dirtThe nose structure plays a key role in filtering air before it enters our lungs and makes sure that the air temperature and humidity are also suitable for the body. Peter Casano A NASA engineer came up with the idea for the air-cushioned Nike Air shoesFrank Rudy came to Nike with the idea of using air capsules in the soles of running shoes to provide better cushioning. The first shoe with this technology, the Tailwind, came out in 1979. Mr. Porter NASA's Stardust mission collected and returned samples from a cometLaunched in 1999, the spacecraft traveled to comet Wild 2 and captured more than 10,000 dust particles from its coma using a tennis racket-like mesh covered in aerogel. It also took pictures of the comet before returning to Earth and releasing the collection canister during its 2006 flyby. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum NASA funded research into creating pizza with a 3D printerThe agency awarded a contract for the development of devices that can create edible structures from long-lasting dry powders when mixed with liquids or pastes. By delaying this integration until the time of consumption, food could last longer than the current six-month expiration of freeze-dried meals for Mars expeditions. NASA Spinoff Explore a series of NASA visualizations tracking satellites and space debrisThe series illustrates the population of objects orbiting Earth as of February 2024, using data from US Space Command. These include active satellites, defunct spacecraft, rocket bodies and debris fragments larger than roughly 10 centimeters in low Earth orbit. NASA Scientific Visualization Studio NASA's ESCAPADE mission will study Mars' atmosphereThe $80M mission—a collaboration between private companies, universities, and NASA—sent two copy machine-sized orbiters on a Blue Origin rocket to the red planet to study its magnetic field and atmospheric loss. The Conversation How NASA plans to build a lunar base, from roads to habitatsThe Apollo Program aspires to return humans to the moon—and to build humanity's first permanent habitat on its surface. The project involves complex construction plans, including creating roads from moon dust, baking bricks to build habitats, and more. The Space Race The inside story of NASA's space shuttleThe space shuttle program was initiated by President Richard Nixon in 1972, and its first launch into space came in 1981. At the time, the spaceplane was the world's most complex aircraft, featuring the most sophisticated heat shield in history. The project sought to create a permanent human presence in space for the first time. This series explores everything related to the space shuttle. BBC News World NASA uses a specialized plasma wind tunnel to test heat shield technologyThe ArcJet Complex ionizes compressed air that fires onto shields at hypersonic speeds, replicating the conditions of high-speed, planetary reentry. An enhanced facility incorporates lasers to mimic the radiant heating experienced during high-energy atmospheric traversal. Scott Manley Read the NASA overview of the results of Viking’s biological experiments on MarsThree experiments on the Viking 1 and 2 landers searched for signs of metabolic activity in soil samples, indicating the presence of microorganisms. No definitive evidence of life was found in any experiment or lander imaging. NASA NASA's Near-Earth Object Surveyor can detect asteroids coming from the sunTelescopes directed at the sun or lacking heat shields may become damaged, limiting our ability to monitor potentially dangerous objects coming from that direction. The NEO Surveyor is built to overcome this problem and spot asteroids that reflect as little as 5% of incoming light. New Scientist NASA's DART mission successfully deflected an asteroidThe Double Asteroid Redirection Test crashed into asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in 2022, altering its orbital radius. The project required precise astrodynamics to strike the moonlet from 11 million kilometers away while traveling 22,530 kilometers per hour. The Wall Street Journal ESA’s Juice and NASA’s Europa Clipper will search for habitability near JupiterThree of Jupiter’s moons—Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto—possess subsurface oceans that may support life. While Clipper will perform flybys of Europa, Juice will be the first spacecraft to orbit a moon in the outer Solar System. ESA NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captures enormous aurora displays on JupiterThe auroras flicker faster and brighter than those seen on Earth. This contrasts with earlier predictions that the lights would fade slowly over several minutes, providing insights into how Jupiter's magnetosphere operates. James Webb Space Telescope NASA has partnered with several private companies to promote commercial space stationsThe retirement of the International Space Station in 2030 has led NASA to refocus its efforts on continuing microgravity research through private partnerships, including the support of multiple commercial space stations' design and development. NASA NASA's budget makes up less than 0.4% of total US spendingNASA's annual budget consists mainly of human spaceflight activities (50%) and robotics and scientific research programs (30%). It peaked at almost $70B in 1964 but has been below $30B since 1995, coming from discretionary nondefense funds. The Planetary Society NASA purchased about 60% of all integrated circuits from 1961 to 1965The US government adopted the new technology to support the development of the Apollo Guidance Computer, which would help astronauts fly to the moon. This drove manufacturing up and costs down, setting the stage for the modern computing era. Fast Company NASA's big dream that never came to lifeConceived in the early 1960s, the Sea Dragon was an audacious ocean-launched rocket design that would have dwarfed the Saturn V in both scale and payload—but its extreme engineering challenges kept it firmly on the drawing board. 1440 NASA fixed Voyager 1’s glitchy memory from 24 billion kilometers awayIn November 2023, Voyager 1 began sending unusable data due to a stuck bit in a decades-old memory chip. After months of investigation, engineers managed to reroute the faulty code to a new memory location, restoring functionality in April 2024. IEEE Spectrum Ten everyday NASA inventions (likely) in your homeAs a public agency, NASA's goals aren't just in space, but for life on Earth, too. That's why so many everyday objects including memory foam, cordless tools, and golf balls are rooted in research first developed by space-faring engineers and scientists. Peruse this quirky list of some of those everyday objects destined for space that are also probably somewhere inside your home. Space.com NASA was created in 1958 in the wake of the Sputnik 1 launchThe launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 jolted US political leaders, who urgently consulted scientists and defense experts on how to respond. Concerns about Soviet technological dominance—and the promise of civilian space applications—led directly to NASA’s creation in 1958. NASA NASA was founded in response to early Soviet space achievementsAlthough starting behind in the Space Race in 1958, NASA became a global leader in humanity's exploration of space with the Apollo program, which placed astronauts on the moon. Since then, it has been responsible for the construction of multiple telescopes, the International Space Station, and development of the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon before eventually reaching Mars. 1440 NASA captures image of ghostly cosmic handNASA's X-ray space telescopes, Chandra and the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, have joined forces to study a hand-shaped structure in space, revealing the magnetic field "bones" of a pulsar wind nebula. Pulsars are rotating neutron stars with strong magnetic fields, creating extreme physics conditions. The combined data from these telescopes provide insight into how pulsars inject particles into space and shape their environment, with the magnetic field playing a crucial role. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Moon 101: NASA's complete overview of our lunar companionFrom modulating our tides to impact our climate, Earth's lone natural satellite plays a key role forming the planet's habitat. Before diving into the rest of the resources on this page, check out NASA's overview of the basics of the Moon—how it got its name, its size and distance from Earth, its structure, and much more. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration How NASA plans to build its first moon baseNASA's Artemis mission plans to see humans return to the moon by 2025, with long-term plans to build the first lunar base on its surface. To begin, astronauts will dwell for days at a time in SpaceX's Starship, which is capable of landing and taking off again from the moon. Over time, NASA plans to harvest minerals from the lunar surface to construct an oxygen pipeline as well as the rest of the base. Watch this video to see a sophisticated, detailed description of NASA's plans for the base. The Space Race NASA satellite data and sound recordings used to assess rainforest healthThis two-minute video describes the work of scientists who are analyzing the impact of repeated forest fires in the Amazon by recording the unique sounds in degraded forests. The team is using acoustic sensors to record sounds of wildlife in the... YouTube NASA explores Earth's deepest oceans to prepare for spaceBy studying extreme environments in Earth's hadal zone—the deepest part of the ocean —NASA tests technologies, probes life under crushing pressure, and gathers clues about potential oceans and possible life on worlds like Europa and Enceladus. BBC News NASA's guide to solar flares and how they workFlares happen when the powerful magnetic fields in and around the sun reconnect. They’re usually associated with active regions, and carry the potential to disrupt electronics on Earth. NASA Goddard NASA satellite data illustrates how oceans drive Earth's weather and climateData from NASA satellites help to visualize and explain global climates and weather patterns, like El Nino and La Nina. Watch this six-minute video animation to learn more. YouTube NASA plans to build a lunar-orbiting space station to support future missions to MarsPlanned for a 2027 launch, NASA Gateway is a lunar-orbiting space station meant to support Artemis lunar missions and future Mars travel. This resource includes an interactive 3D model of the proposed station’s modules and layout. NASA How NASA measures marsquakesMost probes sent to other planets and asteroids focus on surface phenomena, but NASA's InSight Lander is interested in looking deeper. Studying marsquakes as well as the red planet's crust and core, InSight provided four years of insight into how the rocky planets of the inner solar system formed. NASA NASA's exoplanet archiveExplore an archive of all known exoplanets California Institute of Technology NASA economic impact (and budget history)It's estimated that for every dollar NASA spends on its programs, $8 is produced in US economic growth. With a 2023 budget of roughly $25 billion, that means NASA helped create $200 billion in economic value. The administration's investments pay off so massively due to the technologies it develops, many of which become commercially appealing. Dive into the economic impact of NASA's development here. The Balance What does NASA do besides space?Although its splashiest accomplishments are the ones taking place in outer space, NASA actually does a lot more than space exploration. The federal administration also conducts intensive research on the interconnected systems of the Earth, from studies of the atmosphere and oceans to research into the composition of the planet's interior. See what NASA is discovering about our home planet here. NASA NASA was created by Congress in 1958Created by Congress under the National Aeronautics and Space Act, NASA officially began in 1958, building on earlier aviation research and positioning the US to compete in the Space Race and lead global space exploration. NASA NASA's Mercury overviewMercury, the closest planet to our solar system's sun, has an orbit of roughly 88 Earth days, and is not the hottest planet in the solar system (that title goes to Venus and its dense atmosphere). From Mercury's surface, the light of the sun appears 11 times brighter than from Earth, and the Sun itself would appear three times as large. Since Pluto's demotion to dwarf planet, Mercury now claims the smallest planet moniker, coming in only slightly larger than Earth's moon. Explore NASA's official page on Mercury here. NASA SpaceX's Crew Dragon was the first crewed spacecraft piloted by touchscreenIn May 2020, NASA astronauts flying SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the International Space Station used touchscreen controls instead of traditional switches and dials, a significant shift for astronauts and how they pilot and interact with spacecraft. (Some users may experience a paywall.) The Verge Mission specialist Ronald McNair was the second African American to fly in spaceGrowing up in Lake City, South Carolina, McNair described deep self-motivation as key to overcoming struggles in mathematics, having come from a family with no one having a background in mathematics or science. He credited his own curiosity and discipline developed through athletics—especially karate—with helping him build resilience. Black STEM Rockets Turbulence is crucial to the formation of stars in molecular cloudsWithin simulations of these clouds, gravity, jets, supernovae, and galactic motion-induced stirring have been shown to develop turbulence that creates shocks. These turbulent shocks move quickly in low-density regions and slow in high-density areas, forming lumps of matter with sufficient gravitational force to collapse and initiate fusion, birthing a star. NASA Light echoes are expanding shells of reflected starlightJust as sound waves reveal the location of obstacles by reflecting off them, pulses of light emitted by stars illuminate rings of interstellar dust, giving the appearance of ejected material as the light travels outward. NASA Science Mar's moons, Phobos and Deimos, are thought to be captured asteroidsOf the two Martian moons, Phobos orbits more quickly, completing three revolutions a day. It gets 1.8 meters closer to Mars every year, and may crash into the planet in about 50 million years. NASA Science Viking mission planning director Gentry Lee (1942–) on getting to Mars"We didn't know then what we know now, which is how tough it really is to land on Mars." NASA Science Critical organic molecules have been found on an asteroidNASA's OSIRIS-REx mission returned samples containing amino acids and nucleobases from asteroid Bennu. Without Bennu having been destroyed—as is common for asteroids that enter Earth's atmosphere—its samples serve as a time capsule of the solar system's early chemistry. NASA Atmospheric drag is causing the Hubble Space Telescope to drift towards Earth slowlyWithout interventions to boost the observatory to a higher orbit, it is expected to fall to Earth's surface in the mid-2030s. In the meantime, the telescope is expected to continue to be productive by shifting its mode of operation to rely on a single gyroscope, down from three. NPR Helioseismology—the study of seismic waves traveling in the sun—was born in the 1960sFollowing World War II, scientists began studying the sun's influence on radio waves, the most popular form of mass communication at the time. NASA missions to study the sun's interior and surface have since helped protect digital infrastructure. NASA Besides Earth, Mars is the only possibly habitable planet in our solar systemSending humans to Mars in the following decades poses significant challenges, from the vast distance covered to get materials there to powering technology during weekslong dust storms. Research is ongoing to develop life support systems that can regenerate or recycle consumables. NASA Explore the Spirit and Opportunity Martian roversThe twin machines were tasked with studying the geology of Mars to identify evidence of past water activity, determine the composition of minerals, rocks, and soils, and perform "ground truth" experiments to calibrate and validate observations made by Mars orbiters. NASA Mars was named after the Roman god of war for its reddish hue, resembling bloodA single day on Mars lasts 24.6 hours, while a year lasts 687 Earth days. The rusting of iron in rocks on the Martian surface contributes to brown, gold, and tan colorations. NASA

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