
NASA opened for business on October 1, 1958, tasked with handling space exploration and aeronautics research in the United States. The agency currently leads an innovative space exploration program using both commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system. The lessons learned from this are also brought back to Earth to provide new information, technologies, and opportunities.
Arguably the largest ongoing space mission that NASA is involved in is the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is a habitable modular space station involving five space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA. It was initially launched on November 20, 1998.
NASA’s four enduring strategic goals are as follows:
- Expand human knowledge via new scientific discoveries
- Extend human presence deeper into space for sustainable, long-term utilization
- Address national issues and catalyze economic growth
- Optimize capabilities and operations
NASA’s headquarters is located in Washington DC, and the current administrator is Steve Jurczyk.