NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is an organization that develops and controls space research in the USA. It is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research. Succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
As a federal agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) receives its funding from the annual federal budget passed by the United States Congress.
It was set up in 1958 and has launched many rockets and satellites since then. These are launched at Cape Canaveral in Florida and are carefully watched from huge NASA control rooms during their voyage. The launching includes the rockets of the famous Apollo program which landed the first man on the moon and the Mariner spacecraft which have explored many of the planets in the solar system.
NASA began launching satellites to monitor Earth’s weather in 1960. These satellites changed how scientists forecast the weather. It was also one of the first times that scientists were able to look down at the whole Earth from space.
Today, NASA’s Earth-observing satellites do much, much more. They are important in helping us understand how our planet works. And the more we know, the better we can cope with the changes that are occurring. Adding to what we learn from satellites, NASA makes regional observations from airplanes and ships. Data is collected on the ground, too.
Scientists also use computers to model what’s happening now and in the future with the land, ocean, and atmosphere. Best of all, NASA shares what it learns with researchers all over the world. Because when it comes to understanding Earth, space is the place to really know a planet. And that’s exactly where NASA is.
Content for this question contributed by Don Nikolet, resident of Strongsville, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA
