National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research.

Since 2011, NASA's strategic goals have been
 * Extend and sustain human activities across the solar system
 * Expand scientific understanding of the Earth and the universe
 * Create the innovative new space technologies
 * Advance aeronautics research
 * Enable program and institutional capabilities to conduct NASA’s aeronautics and space activities
 * Share NASA with the public, educators, and students to provide opportunities to participate

President Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 with a distinctly civilian (rather than military) orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29th, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The agency became operational on October 1st, 1958.