Since 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has brought the mysteries of the cosmos down to Earth, inspiring millions across the world to set their eyes on the final frontier.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
For the first time, we have clear images of the sun’s mysterious south pole. Captured in March 2025, by ESA and NASA’s Solar Orbiter, this footage reveals magnetic chaos that could unlock answers about solar storms, the sun’s strange 11-year cycle, and why its atmosphere is hotter than its surface.
Want to know more about the Space Race? This article from the National Air and Space Museum dives into this intense Cold War competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Explore how the race transitioned from military rivalry to a quest for space exploration dominance, leading to milestones like the first satellite, Sputnik, and the iconic Apollo 11 Moon landing.
The International Space Station—a bastion of scientific experimentation and exploration—is expected to be retired in 2030. What will replace it? Currently in phase one of their Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development program, NASA is supporting private space agencies to launch not just one, but several commercial space stations. These stations will house both astronauts and tourists, setting the stage for a burgeoning orbital economy.
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 Budget cuts, shifting priorities, and outdated tech stalled lunar exploration—until now.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.
NASA'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.
Three 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.
Along with scientific instruments, each Voyager carried a golden record containing multilingual greetings—ranging from Sumerian and Akkadian to Thai and Cantonese—music, and sounds of Earth intended for any intelligent life that might find it.
By 1975, the US and Soviet Union had been embroiled in the Cold War for decades. So it was big news when Soviet cosmonauts and American astronauts met in outer space to … shake hands and study fish eggs. Equal parts diplomatic effort and scientific research collaboration, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project offered a glimpse of what international collaboration could look like, at least in the field of space exploration.
The 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.
NASA'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 less than $30B since 1995, coming from discretionary non-defense funds.
Since the time our ancient human relatives began using stone tools to perform tasks, humans have harnessed scientific knowledge and new technologies to advance our ability to feed ourselves, increase our health, expand the boundaries of our knowledge, and much more. From artificial intelligence and quantum computing, to optimizing the human body in pursuit of a long and healthy life, and much more—learn about these topics and more with our smart-but-digestible overviews and expert-curated resources.