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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
Galileo spacecraft
Why did Kennedy want to go to the Moon?
Johnson Space Center: control room space shuttle liftoff Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy map of the National Mall, Washington, D.C.
How does the Hubble Space Telescope work?
NASA's Parker Solar Probe spacecraft
Explore how the X-15, M2-F1 vehicle, and the LLRV at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center contributed to the U.S. space program
What is the path of the 2024 total solar eclipse?
Quizzes
Yellow transportation sign with ASAP (as soon as possible) on violet color sky background. (acronyms)
Figure Out the Acronyms ASAP Vocabulary Quiz
Edwin E. Aldrin (Buzz Aldrin) stands on the moon, Apollo 11
Famous Astronauts and Cosmonauts
Read Next
Apollo 12 astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad stands beside the U.S. flag after is was unfurled on the lunar surface during the first extravehicular activity (EVA-1) Nov. 19, 1969. Footprints made by the crew can be seen in the photograph.
How Many People Have Been to the Moon?
After a perfect launch, spectators try to catch a last glimpse of Space Shuttle Columbia, barely visible at the top end of the twisted column of smoke.
7 Accidents and Disasters in Spaceflight History
Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong (center), command pilot, and David R. Scott (right), pilot of the Gemini-8 prime crew, are suited up for water egress training aboard the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico. At left is Dr. Kenneth N. Beers, M.D., Flight Medicine Branch, Center Medical Office. Training for Gemini 8, Gemini-titan-8. January 15, 1966
How Gemini 8 Made History and Avoided Disaster
The International Space Station photographed against the Rio Negro, Argentina, from the shuttle orbiter Atlantis, February 16, 2001. Atlantis' primary mission was to deliver the Destiny laboratory module, visible at the leading end of the station.
Everyday Stuff Developed by NASA
The Space Shuttle Columbia soars from Launch Pad 39A on July 1 1997 to begin the 16-day STS-94 Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission.
12 Questions About the History of Space Exploration Answered
Discover
Small, white rat (genus Rattus) on a glass table. (rodent, laboratory, experiment)
Cruel and Unusual Punishments: 15 Types of Torture
Thumbnail for flags that look alike quiz Russia, Slovenia, Iceland, Norway
Flags That Look Alike
Ethel Rosenberg arrested in August 1950. Photograph dated Aug. 8, 1950. American civilians executed for espionage. Spies, communists, Julius Rosenberg
Spies Like Us: 10 Famous Names in the Espionage Game
Computer mapping, woman at early 1990s computer
Timeline of the 1990s
Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant
7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants
Figure 13: A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, operated by German infantrymen, World War I.
7 Deadliest Weapons in History
Close up of praying mantis walking on stone ground against a blurred background in Japan
6 Animals That Eat Their Mates

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Facts & Related Content

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News •

NASA rover spies the first aurora at Mars that's visible to the human eye • May 14, 2025, 2:03 PM ET (AP)
NASA astronauts step outside space station to perform the 5th all-female spacewalk • May 1, 2025, 3:01 PM ET (AP)
NASA's oldest astronaut felt the decades melt away in space before returning on his 70th birthday • Apr. 28, 2025, 5:32 PM ET (AP)
NASA's Lucy spacecraft beams back pictures of an asteroid shaped like a lumpy bowling pin • Apr. 23, 2025, 11:17 AM ET (AP)
A Soyuz capsule with 2 Russians and 1 American returns to Earth from the International Space Station • Apr. 20, 2025, 6:01 AM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As NASA
Date 1958 - present
Areas Of Involvement space exploration • research and development • space shuttle • Apollo • Earth satellite • Voyager • spacecraft • Landsat • Gemini • Mariner
Related People Dwight D. Eisenhower • Neil Armstrong • Stephanie Wilson • Michael Griffin • David S. McKay • Nancy Grace Roman • Katherine Johnson • Valerie Thomas • Bill Nelson • Jessica Meir • Sultan ibn Salman Al Saud • Joseph Acaba • Nicole Aunapu Mann • Alan B. Shepard, Jr. • Mary Jackson

Photos and Videos

Galileo spacecraft
Johnson Space Center: control room
space shuttle liftoff
Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy
map of the National Mall, Washington, D.C.
Why did Kennedy want to go to the Moon?
How does the Hubble Space Telescope work?
NASA's Parker Solar Probe spacecraft
Explore how the X-15, M2-F1 vehicle, and the LLRV at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center contributed to the U.S. space program
What is the path of the 2024 total solar eclipse?
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Edwin E. Aldrin (Buzz Aldrin) stands on the moon, Apollo 11
Famous Astronauts and Cosmonauts
Yellow transportation sign with ASAP (as soon as possible) on violet color sky background. (acronyms)
Figure Out the Acronyms ASAP Vocabulary Quiz
List
The Space Shuttle Columbia soars from Launch Pad 39A on July 1 1997 to begin the 16-day STS-94 Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission.
12 Questions About the History of Space Exploration Answered
Demystified
Apollo 12 astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad stands beside the U.S. flag after is was unfurled on the lunar surface during the first extravehicular activity (EVA-1) Nov. 19, 1969. Footprints made by the crew can be seen in the photograph.
How Many People Have Been to the Moon?