IntroductionaboutNASAcontents1.Creation

2.Spaceflightprograms3.ScientificresearchCreationThe

NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration

(NASA)istheagencyofthe

UnitedStatesgovernment

thatisresponsibleforthenation'scivilianspaceprogram

andfor

aeronautics

and

aerospace

research.President

DwightEisenhower

establishedtheNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA)in1958

withadistinctlycivilian(ratherthanmilitary)orientationencouragingpeacefulapplicationsinspacescience.TheNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAct

waspassedonJuly29,1958,disestablishingNASA'spredecessor,the

NationalAdvisoryCommitteeforAeronautics

(NACA).ThenewagencybecameoperationalonOctober1,1958.

Sincethattime,mostU.S.spaceexplorationeffortshavebeenledbyNASA,includingthe

Apollo

moon-landing

missions,the

Skylab

spacestation,andlaterthe

SpaceShuttle.Currently,NASAissupportingthe

InternationalSpaceStation

andisoverseeingthedevelopmentofthe

OrionMulti-PurposeCrewVehicle

and

CommercialCrew

vehicles.Theagencyisalsoresponsibleforthe

LaunchServicesProgram

(LSP)whichprovidesoversightoflaunchoperationsandcountdownmanagementforunmannedNASAlaunches.Mostrecently,NASAannouncedanew

SpaceLaunchSystem

thatitsaidwouldtaketheagency'sastronautsfartherintospacethaneverbeforeandlaythecornerstoneforfuturehumanspaceexplorationeffortsbytheU.S.

NASAscienceisfocusedonbetterunderstandingEarththroughthe

EarthObservingSystem,

advancing

heliophysics

throughtheeffortsoftheScienceMissionDirectorate'sHeliophysicsResearchProgram,

exploringbodiesthroughoutthe

SolarSystem

withadvancedroboticmissionssuchas

NewHorizons,

andresearching

astrophysics

topics,suchasthe

BigBang,throughthe

GreatObservatories

andassociatedprograms.

NASAsharesdatawithvariousnationalandinternationalorganizationssuchasfromtheGreenhouseGasesObservingSatellite.SpaceflightprogramsX-15rocketplane(1959–68)ProjectMercury(1959–63)水星計劃ProjectGemini(1961–66)雙子星計劃ProjectApollo(1961–72)阿波羅計劃Skylab(1965–79)太空實驗室Apollo-SoyuzTestProject(1972-75)阿波羅-聯盟試驗計劃SpaceShuttleprogram(1972–2011)

航天飛機計劃InternationalSpaceStation(1993–present)國際空間站計劃CommercialResupplyServices(2006-present)

商業補給服務BeyondLowEarthOrbitprogram(2010–present)

NASAismajoredinaeronauticalresearchandexploration,includingthespacesciences(solarsystemexploration,Marsexploration,lunarexploration,thestructureoftheuniverse,andenvironment),thestudyoftheearth(earth