The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the primary civilian space agency of the United States. Founded in 1958, NASA has more than 18,000 employees nationwide and an annual budget of $25B.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
This archive includes the many steps it took to put together each Voyager probe. Photos focus on individual parts, like the 8-track tape deck, the large dish-shaped antenna, and its long arm magnetometer boom.
Three 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.
Nicknamed "Percy" and designed as the successor to the Curiosity rover, the vehicle has covered more than 36 kilometers (22 miles), collected dozens of samples, and taken hundreds of images while searching for signs of ancient microbial life.
Each DSN complex has multiple large, sensitive antennas that can receive weak radio signals from far-off spacecraft and send commands back to them. Their amplifiers are cooled to just above absolute zero to reduce electronic noise.
The Golden Record holds what is essentially a human "time-capsule," featuring music, nature sounds, and greetings from around the world. NASA used the radiation period of hydrogen’s simplest transition as a baseline to convey timing and structure. The first coded image is included on the cover as a test so aliens can check if they decoded it correctly.
This three-minute video overview explains NASA's ambitious test to slightly alter the course of an asteroid by slamming a fast-moving space probe into its surface. Scientists hope to one day, if needed, use the technique to protect Earth from an asteroid impact.
After 50 years, NASA is heading back to the moon. Artemis missions will push beyond Apollo, landing astronauts on the moon’s south pole by 2027. But why the long wait? Budget cuts, shifting priorities, and outdated tech stalled lunar exploration—until now. With new goals and modern tech, NASA is ready to return.
Established in 2016, the PDCO characterizes and tracks asteroids and comets passing within 30 million miles of Earth. Over 39,000 near-Earth asteroids have been discovered, though estimates point to about 14,000 more such objects left to be found.
The Space Launch System is intended to be the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA. Possible missions include returning to the moon and perhaps even reaching Mars. This speculative and mostly silent video uses animation to explore the inner workings of the SLS, showing it launching and in space flight.
Although asteroid detection is mandated by law, the NEO Surveyor telescope, which is specifically designed to detect asteroids, received more than twice the funding requested by NASA in 2023.
Since our ancient human relatives began using stone tools to perform tasks, humans have harnessed scientific knowledge and new technologies to expand the boundaries of our understanding of the natural world. From quantum computing and microplastics to artificial intelligence and memory, explore these topics and more with our concise yet informative overviews and expert-curated resources.