NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the United States government agency responsible for civil space exploration, aeronautics research, and scientific discovery. Established on July 29, 1958, in response to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik, NASA has led American efforts in human spaceflight, planetary science, Earth observation, and astrophysics for over six decades. The agency is composed of four mission directorates—Aeronautics Research, Science, Space Technology, and Human Exploration and Operations—and operates ten field centers across the United States.
NASA's human spaceflight programs progressed from the single-occupant Mercury capsules through the Gemini and Apollo programs, which landed 12 astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. The Space Shuttle program flew 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, deploying the Hubble Space Telescope, constructing the International Space Station, and launching interplanetary probes. Since the Shuttle's retirement, NASA has developed the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a permanent lunar base. Artemis II completed a crewed lunar flyby in April 2026, sending four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the Moon and setting a new distance record for humans from Earth at 252,756 miles. The crew named their Orion capsule Integrity; it returned to Kennedy Space Center after post-mission inspection and components are being recycled for future flights. In June 2026, NASA announced the four-person Artemis III crew—Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano, and Mission Specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio—for a 2027 Earth-orbit test mission to validate commercial lunar landers ahead of the first planned surface landing on Artemis IV in 2028. The agency formally announced the Moon Base program in May 2026, a three-phase, multi-company initiative: phases 1 and 2 are estimated to cost $20 billion over seven years, with phase 3 expected to cost $10 billion or more, aiming to establish a permanent human outpost at the lunar south pole[^c2][^c2]. A New Glenn rocket explosion at Cape Canaveral in May 2026 damaged the only launch pad capable of supporting Blue Origin's lunar lander, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated the pad may not be restored until 2028. In January 2026, Congress formally cancelled the Mars Sample Return program, ending the top-priority planetary science objective of two consecutive Decadal Surveys.
In astrophysics, the James Webb Space Telescope continued its transformative science program with two major discoveries published in June 2026: the most distant direct mass measurement of a dormant supermassive black hole (6 billion solar masses, 10 billion light-years away, published in Science), and the detection of a galaxy-killing wind from the early universe that may explain why many massive galaxies died young (published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society). The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA's next flagship astrophysics observatory, completed construction in November 2025 and is scheduled for launch on August 30, 2026, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center.[^c1] The Habitable Worlds Observatory, designed to directly image Earth-like planets and search for atmospheric biosignatures, received a major funding boost to $150 million in FY 2026 and awarded seven industry contracts to mature its technologies.
Beyond human spaceflight, NASA conducts a broad portfolio of scientific research. Robotic missions have explored every planet in the Solar System, from the Voyager spacecraft in interstellar space—which is expected to reach one light-day from Earth in November 2026—to the Perseverance rover searching for signs of ancient life on Mars. In June 2026, NASA announced a public-private partnership with Relativity Space to send the Aeolus atmospheric science instrument to Mars by 2028, producing the first daily global maps of Martian wind, temperature, dust, and clouds. The agency also operates over 20 Earth-observing satellites that monitor climate change, severe weather, and natural hazards. The MAVEN Mars orbiter was formally declared ended in June 2026 after a decade of atmospheric research and communications relay service, accelerating plans for a Mars Telecommunications Network replacement. On the International Space Station, a first-ever medical evacuation was conducted in January 2026, and five astronauts sheltered in a SpaceX Crew Dragon in June 2026 during repairs to the aging Zvezda module's air leak. In June 2026, SpaceX's CRS-34 Dragon cargo capsule returned to Earth carrying bioprinted organ and cartilage tissue, cryogenic fuel storage data, and DNA-inspired materials for developing new cancer treatments. NASA's 24th astronaut class of 10 candidates was selected in September 2025 from over 8,000 applicants. In fiscal year 2026, NASA's effective budget reached approximately $27 billion after Congress rejected proposed 24 percent cuts. NASA's X-59 experimental aircraft achieved its first supersonic flight on June 5, 2026, reaching Mach 1.1 as part of the Quesst mission to enable quiet commercial supersonic flight over land.