The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a world-renowned scientific research institution located in Greenbelt, Maryland. Founded in 1959 as the first satellite center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), GSFC has been at the forefront of space exploration and research for over 50 years.
As one of ten major NASA field centers, GSFC conducts a wide variety of cutting-edge scientific research and technological development in support of NASA’s missions in aeronautics, astrophysics, Earth science, and space science. With a workforce of over 4,000 employees – including scientists, engineers, technologists, and support staff – GSFC is one of the largest employers in Prince George’s County.
GSFC’s contributions to space exploration are numerous and varied. The Center played a key role in developing many of the spacecraft that have allowed humans to explore our solar system and beyond, including the Ranger series that mapped the surface of Mars prior to the Apollo landings; the Mariner series that explored Venus, Mars, and Mercury; and Pioneer 10 & 11 , which were the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter and Saturn respectively. More recently, GSFC was responsible for developing two spacecraft that are currently revolutionizing our understanding of our place in the universe: the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) , which has provided unprecedented views of distant galaxies; and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) , which has made precise measurements of cosmic background radiation – providing strong evidence for inflationary cosmology .
In addition to its work on interplanetary spacecraft , GSFC is also home to a number o