Description

1 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was founded in 1958, two years after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. The agency's early missions focused on space exploration, including sending astronauts to the Moon. In the years since, NASA has expanded its mission to include a wide range of activities, from studying the Earth's climate to developing new technologies for space exploration.