NASA

NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. It began as a civilian agency, but has since grown into a federal agency with a $1 billion annual budget. Its mission is to explore the solar system and the universe. It plans to launch a manned mission to Mars in 2023, and a crewed mission to the Moon in 2028.

About NASA in brief

Summary NASA NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Most US space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System, and Commercial Crew vehicles. NASA science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System; advancing heliophysics; exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons; and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs. NASA inherited NACA’s X-15 experimental rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft, developed in conjunction with the US Air Force and Navy. A significant contributor to NASA’s entry into the Space Race with the Soviet Union was the technology from the German rocket program led by Wernher von Braun, who was now working for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, which in turn incorporated the technology of American scientist Robert Goddard’s earlier works. NASA absorbed the 43-year-old NACA intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of US$100 million, three major research laboratories and two small test facilities. In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a contractor facility operated by the California Institute of Technology.

The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for uncrewed NASA launches. It was created in February 1958 to develop space technology for military application. On July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronauts and Space Act, establishing NASA. When it began operations on October 1, 1958,. NASA was the first federal agency to conduct all non-military space activity. It is now one of the largest agencies in the world, with a budget of more than $1.2 billion. It has a mission to explore the solar system and the universe, and is the second largest federal agency in the U.S. after the Department of Defense. It also has the responsibility for the development and testing of the Space Force, which is responsible for most of the nation’s air and space-based military technology. NASA has the largest budget in the United States, followed by the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Astronautics Association. It began as a civilian agency, but has since grown into a federal agency with a $1 billion annual budget. NASA’s mission is to explore Earth, the moon, and other celestial bodies, including Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, as well as to send humans to the moon and Mars to orbit the Earth in the 2030s and 2050s. It plans to launch a manned mission to Mars in 2023, and a crewed mission to the Moon in 2028. It will launch a Mars rover in 2032.