NASA’s vision: To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind.
To do that, thousands of people have been working around the world – and off of it – for 50 years, trying to answer some basic questions. What’s out there in space? How do we get there? What will we find? What can we learn there, or learn just by trying to get there, that will make life better here on Earth?
NASA conducts its work in three principal organisations, called mission directorates:
Aeronautics: pioneers and proves new flight technologies that improve our ability to explore and which have practical applications on Earth.
Human Exploration and Operations: focuses on International Space Station operations and human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
Science: explores the Earth, solar system and universe beyond; charts the best route of discovery; and reaps the benefits of Earth and space exploration for society.
A closer look at how ice cover changed through the months offers some important insights into the role of climate change and why every year isn’t a record.
Advanced driver-assist systems can lull drivers into taking their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road when they shouldn’t.
Jakob Härter/Flickr
Tesla crashes and the investigations that follow generate a lot of headlines, but the dangers of automotive automation are industrywide. The common denominator is the human behind the wheel.
Scientists previously underestimated aquatic methane emissions. We must use this new information to stop methane derailing our attempts to stabilise the Earth’s temperature.
Through the Paris Agreement, the world’s countries agreed to work to keep global warming well under 2 degrees Celsius.
Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images
The US is formally back in the Paris climate agreement as of today. As one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, it has a lot of work to do, with food security, health and safety at stake.
The 2020 wildfire season has been shattering records across the West.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
Nuestros últimos estudios sugieren que el metano, un gas de efecto invernadero más potente que el dióxido de carbono, se está acumulando en la atmósfera debido a la actividad humana.
NASA scientists have discovered a new planet orbiting around a nearby star that is in a habitable zone. But does this planet have liquid oceans that can support life?
A geographical map depicting hotbeds of dark web activity related to illegal products. Larger circles indicate more activity.
Christian Mattmann
Extreme wet years are getting wetter and more common. This means Australia’s terrestrial ecosystems will play a larger role in the global carbon cycle.
If life survived on Earth 3.7 billion years ago, why not elsewhere in the solar system?
Shutterstock/Filip Fuxa
Scientists say they’ve found fossils showing life existed on Earth 3.7 billion years ago. How good is the evidence? And what does it mean for the search for life elsewhere in our solar system?
DSAC is prepping for a yearlong experiment to characterize and test its suitability for use in future deep space exploration.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Measuring time is a crucial part of navigation – particularly in space, where exacting precision is called for. The DSAC is poised to make a change that will aid future deep space missions.
Hundreds of cities worldwide have pledged to act against climate change. New York City’s experience rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy offers useful lessons about making urban areas more resilient.
Ceres, as seen by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on December 10, around a crater chain called Gerber Catena.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Dawn’s mission director and chief engineer describes his ‘dream come true’ job – and how the new data coming back from Ceres could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of our solar system.
Fires, such as this one in eastern Sierra Leone, are an annual occurrence across Africa.
Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly
Ben Poulter, NASA and David Frank, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)
Higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere are changing how quickly trees process water, which scientists are studying to see if it will affect river flow, flooding and soil moisture.