NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is the US government agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency was to have a distinctly civilian orientation, encouraging peaceful applications in space science. Since its establishment, most US space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. NASA is currently supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and Commercial Crew spacecraft. The agency is also responsible for developing technology to enable human exploration of Mars.
NASA’s scientific activities are organized into four main directorates: Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD), Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Human Exploration & Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD), and Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). These directorates are further divided into numerous divisions and centers that carry out specific tasks or focus on particular scientific disciplines. For example, SMD includes astrophysics, Earth science, heliophysics, planetary science divisions; STMD focuses on technology development; while HEOMD manages human spaceflight operations such as those aboard the International Space Station.
The budget for NASA’s 2021 fiscal year is $25.2 billion dollars which request an increase of $3 billion over 2020 levels due to Artemis program costs associated with returning humans to the moon by 2024 cite. The White House has proposed merging NOAA with NASA which would result in significant changes to both agencies cite.