NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an autonomous organisation within the United States federal government that is responsible for the civil space programme as well as research in the fields of aeronautics and space.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established in 1958 as a successor to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The purpose of the establishment of NASA was to give the United States space development effort a clearly civilian orientation, with an emphasis on peaceful applications of space science. NASA has been in charge of the majority of the United States' space exploration endeavours ever since the organisation was founded; this includes the Apollo moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and, subsequently, the Space Shuttle. In addition to providing assistance to the International Space Station, NASA is in charge of supervising the creation of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System, Commercial Crew vehicles, and the Lunar Gateway space station that is now in the planning stages. In addition, the agency is in charge of the Launch Services Program, which manages the countdowns and launches of uncrewed NASA spacecraft and is responsible for providing supervision of launch operations.

The Earth Observing System, the Heliophysics Research Program, advanced robotic spacecraft like New Horizons, and research into astrophysics topics like the Big Bang are the primary focuses of NASA's scientific endeavours. These endeavours are directed by the Science Mission Directorate and are supported by the agency's Great Observatories and other associated programmes.

The management of the organisation is housed in the NASA Headquarters in Washington, District of Columbia, and is responsible for providing general leadership and direction. Civil service personnel at NASA are expected to be citizens of the United States, with some exceptions made for extraordinary situations.

The administrator of NASA is appointed by the President of the United States, whose choice is subject to the approval of the Senate of the United States, and serves at the leisure of the President as a senior counsellor on matters pertaining to space research. Since May 3, 2021, the position of administrator has been held by Bill Nelson, who was appointed to the position by President Joe Biden.

Dr. T. Keith Glennan served as the program's initial administrator after being selected for the position by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. During his tenure as president of the United States (1958–1961), he was responsible for coordinating the many space exploration research initiatives.