Surely, on numerous occasions you have heard about the NASA. This is the United States Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), an agency dedicated to space research and exploration. Over the years since its creation, it has launched numerous space missions to explore outer space. It is one of the most important agencies in the world for everything related to astronomy.
In this article we are going to tell you about all the characteristics and importance of NASA.
Key features
This is an agency that was created in 1958. Since then, it has been responsible for launching more than 160 manned space missions and has sent numerous astronauts into space. The main objective of NASA and all the space missions that have taken place over the years is to explore outer space and obtain more information about it. It attempts to search for or learn about extraterrestrial life and the characteristics of everything that surrounds our planet in outer space. In addition, NASA has been involved in research on the cosmic shield that protects our planet and has developed a plan to deflect meteorites that can threaten the Earth.
Among the most important missions by The ones that this agency highlights is the one on the trip to the moon in 1969It was a huge mission that spanned every corner of the planet, and everyone was eagerly awaiting what NASA would discover. Many people today still believe that the trip to the moon was a complete hoax and not real.
After several significant space voyages, NASA had to cancel numerous expeditions due to lack of funding. Space exploration lost interest among the public, and funding for it dwindled. After 30 years doing space missions, he had to cancel this entire program. Yet US President Donald Trump is keen to push the space agency to send more missions into space and make incredible discoveries.
Importance of NASA
It's important to note that this agency is no longer the only one exploring space today. However, its importance shouldn't be underestimated, as it was the one that took us to the moon some 51 years ago. Furthermore, for all these decades, it has been responsible for fulfilling humankind's dreams of conquering outer space. Although it was founded on July 29, 1958,, but it did not start operations until October 1 of that year. NASA has a crucial role in the exploration of other celestial bodies, as demonstrated by the study of the giant of the asteroid belt, Ceres.
Everything known about outer space to date has been discovered by this agency, so it holds great importance for our understanding of the entire universe. Every time something new is learned about space, we remember this agency. Let's now look at the most important voyages NASA has made that are relevant to our understanding of the universe.
The best NASA trips
- Scout 1: It is the first artificial satellite of the West that was given in response to the Soviets. It is with this artificial satellite that the space race began (link) 30. This device measured 203 centimeters long and 16 centimeters wide and was responsible for discovering that our planet was surrounded by cosmic rays. It circled our planet 58 thousand times and was in space for 12 years.
- Allan Shepard: He was the first NASA astronaut to travel into space. He made an orbital flight on the Mercury Redstone 3 spacecraft. This event took place in 1961.
- Apollo Program: This program's goal was to fly over and land on the moon. The program was launched after President John F. Kennedy announced that they would land a man on the satellite. Many missions followed until Apollo 11 fulfilled the promise of landing on the moon. It happened in 1969, and it was Neil Armstrong who uttered the immortal words: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He uttered this phrase just before landing on our satellite, the moon. For more details, you can consult the .
- Apollo 13: This is a mission that sought to lead man to step on our satellite for the third time. However, an oxygen tank fence caused the ship to be in danger. It was one of the most important successful failures in history. Although the mission did not go off correctly, they were able to return home thanks to the expertise of the astronauts and their companions. We must also mention the work of the mission control men on Earth who helped return to our planet.
- Pioneer 10: May 1972 and it is a space probe that has become the first spacecraft to cross the Asteroid Belt and reach Jupiter. It has a plate that informs any extraterrestrial intelligence that could be found where it has come from and how we human beings are. The last signal captured from this probe was in 2003. At present, it is heading towards the star Aldebaran within the constellation of Taurus.
Other important missions
Let's see what are the other important missions that NASA has had.
- Space shuttles: It is a program that was born when NASA wanted to reduce research costs. This is because the Apollo spacecraft could only be used once. It seems that there were vehicles that could withstand many trips in space, so they had to develop a ship that could withstand the heat that the entrance and exit of the earth generated. After 9 30 years of study, the Columbia shuttle could be created. Since it began its service it has been in use for more than 2 decades, but it disintegrated on its last outing and took the lives of 7 crew members.
- Hubble Space Telescope: Before Hubble, the images we had of space were the product of ground-based telescopes. NASA decided to place one of these devices off the planet to capture sharper pictures of the universe. Thanks to regular maintenance, Hubble is still active.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about NASA and its exploits.