NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration and serves as an independent government agency responsible for overseeing the U.S. Federal Government’s civil space programs and aeronautics and space sciences. Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 1 October 1958 through the National Aeronautics and Space Act, its goal is peaceful space technology development rather than military use, and it oversees U.S. science relating to space exploration as well as aircraft technology research projects.
NASA Vision Statement
Exploring and Broadening Awareness For the Good of Humanity. NASA is administrator-led. Jim Bridenstine became its 13th Administrator around July 2019, while James W Morhard became its 14th Deputy Administrator. NASA contains four research directorates:
- Earth/Environment Science Directorate (ESRD), Life Science Research Directorate (LSRD).
- Space Exploration Science Directorate (SEMD), and Human Spaceflight Program Office.
- Aeronautics Research involves improving new aviation technologies.
- Science encompasses efforts to understand the origin, nature, and evolution of the cosmos, solar system, and Earth.
Space technology aims to advance space research and exploration technology. Human exploration includes activities related to crew project management, such as the International Space Station and launch services, space transportation services, and communications networks used by both robotic and human exploration programs.
Space Flight Programs
NASA has undertaken various crewed and uncrewed spaceflight projects throughout its long history. Uncrewed projects included launching artificial satellites into orbit for research and communications use and research probes outward from Earth into space to investigate Venus, Mars, asteroids, etc.
List of Crewed programs
- From 1959-1968, NASA launched 15 rocket planes as part of Project Mercury from 1958-63.
- From 1961-66, Project Gemini provided astronaut training.
- Apollo from 1961 until 1972 (excluding Skylab, which operated until 1979).
- The Soyuz Test Project ran from 1972 until 1975 ( Skylab to 1979; Apollo to Soyuz Test Project until 1975.
- Skylab operated from 1965 – 1979 and Space Shuttle began operation from 1972 till 2011 and International Space Station became active subsequently).
Expandable Satellite Program
- Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter (in 1973).
- Pioneer 11 visited Saturn (1979). Voyager 2 made history again as the first spacecraft to visit Uranus (in 1986) and Neptune (1989).
NASA relaunched its crewed lunar landing mission 40 years after its first landing. - Astronauts constructed and completed Neil A. Armstrong’s Lunar Outpost construction over three years.
- once complete, it will allow crew flights to remoter corners of our Solar System.
- NASA astronauts successfully landed on the recently discovered Asteroid 1999 AO10 with great success back in 2015.
- There has also been talk about sending crewed landing missions to Mars between 2020 and 2021.
Uncrewed tasks may include Venus In Situ Explorer, set for launch sometime after that.
NASA/ESA have planned for their joint Uranus Pathfinder probe to launch in 2025, and the Neptune Orbiter was deployed into space in 2016.
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