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Apollo 11 Mission Image - View of Moon Limb, with Earth on the Horizon

NASA History

Since its founding in 1958, NASA has pushed the boundaries of scientific and technical limits to explore the unknown for all the citizens of our planet. Discover the history of our human spaceflight, science, technology, and aeronautics programs.

On the desolate pock-marked lunar surface, astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., wearing a white Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit, stands to the right of the American flag planted in the soil. The flag is unfurled and waving to the left, with Aldrin facing it in the image and seen from a side view.

Find out more about the first mission to land people on the Moon in July 1969.

Katherine G. Johnson

Meet the women who worked as human computers in NASA's early days.

Painter applies fresh coat of paint to the NASA Meatball on the Hangar's North Facade

Get to know the meatball, the worm, the seal, and other logos and insignia used by NASA.

NASA will never forget the tragic loss of the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia crews.

CHIMPANZEE "HAM" sits IN FLIGHT COUCH FOR MR-2 (MERCURY-REDSTONE2) surrounded by his trainers.

Learn about the early history of animals in space flight.

66 Years of Aerospace Exploration

Forged in response to early Soviet space achievements, NASA was built on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), as the locus of U.S. civil aerospace research and development. Since October 1, 1958, when NASA opened for business, it has accelerated work on human and robotic spaceflight, and is responsible for scientific and technological achievements that have had widespread impacts on our nation and the world.

Discover Our History about 66 Years of Aerospace Exploration
Aerial view of NASA hangar roof.

The NASA History Office

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 not only created NASA but directed it “to provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning NASA activities and the results thereof.” The sharing of information, including our history, has always been, and continues to be, a priority. Historians in NASA’s History Office do historical research, provide context, answer questions for NASA leadership, and share NASA’s History with the public.

Learn More About Our Work
The NACA's Aircraft Fleet arrayed on the ramp in the 1950s
These people and this equipment supported the flight of the NACA D-558-2 Skyrocket at the High-Speed Flight Station at South Base, Edwards AFB. Note the two Sabre chase planes, the P2B-1S launch aircraft, and the profusion of ground support equipment, including communications, tracking, maintenance, and rescue vehicles. Research pilot A. Scott Crossfield stands in front of the Skyrocket. Photo date: January 17, 1954
NACA

A Wartime Necessity

In the newest publication in the NASA History Series, A Wartime Necessity: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and Other National Aeronautical Research Organizations' Efforts at Innovation During World War II, we see how research and technology were critical to the war effort, how unique contexts shaped what was possible, and how institutions were adapting to a drastically changing world.

Get the E-book about A Wartime Necessity
This is a photo of the Navy's Brewster XF2A-1 Buffalo mounted in the Full-Scale Tunnel for drag reduction studies.

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