NASA

Hello! We are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, but that’s a long name, so most people call us by our nickname, NASA. We are an agency that is part of the United States government. Our work is all about exploration and science. We have a few very important jobs. One of our biggest jobs is to explore space, sending astronauts and robots to visit other worlds. We also learn more about our home planet, Earth, using satellites to study our land, oceans, and weather. Finally, we work to design new and better kinds of airplanes that can fly faster and more safely.

Our story began a long time ago, in the year 1958. We were created during a period called the Space Race. This was a time when different countries around the world were in a friendly competition. Everyone wanted to be the first to explore the great mystery of outer space. When we first started, we had a very important goal. Our first big mission was to solve a difficult puzzle: how could we safely send people into space and then bring them all the way back home to Earth? It would take a lot of careful work and new ideas to make that happen.

After years of hard work, we were ready for an incredible journey. One of our most famous achievements came from our Apollo program. The goal of this program was to land a person on the Moon. In 1969, our Apollo 11 mission accomplished that dream. We sent astronauts all the way to the Moon in a powerful rocket. Two of those astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, climbed out of their spacecraft and became the first people ever to walk on the lunar surface. It was a very exciting moment watched by people all over the world, showing what humans could do when they worked together.

We don't just send people to explore the universe. Sometimes, a place is too far away or too dangerous for astronauts. That’s when we send our amazing robots to do the exploring for us! We build special robots to go where humans can't. For example, we have sent rovers, which are like robotic cars, to drive all over the surface of the planet Mars. They study the red rocks and dirt. We have also launched powerful space telescopes into orbit. Telescopes like Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope are our eyes in the sky, taking beautiful pictures of distant stars and mysterious galaxies.

Today, our work of exploration continues every single day. We have astronauts who live and work for months at a time on the International Space Station. This amazing laboratory orbits high above Earth, where they can do important science experiments. We are also looking toward the future. With our new Artemis program, we are planning new missions to return humans to the Moon. And after that, one day, we hope to take the next giant leap and send the first humans to visit Mars. We keep exploring space for the benefit of everyone here on Earth.