NASA, the word itself speaks for its legacy. National Aeronautics and Space Administration or more commonly known as NASA is a space research agency of the U.S. government responsible for the various space programs, researches, and aeronautics. NASA Plans directs and leads aeronautical and space exercises. The United States has spent billions at NASA since its establishment. Its budget peaked in 1964-66 when it accounted for about 4% of all the federal spending. NASA is not owned by any individual, NASA is a US government-based organization and thus it doesn’t have any CEO. Nonetheless, the chief head of NASA is called NASA Administrator. He is at the highest post in the NASA administration. The topic is ‘Who Owns Nasa?’
Basic Framework
NASA orchestrates various mainstream researchers in arranging logical methods and perceptions to be utilized for aeronautical and space technology, it leads such researches. Throughout history, NASA has been one of the biggest contributors to the overall technological advancement of human civilization. Hundreds of the researches by NASA have paved the way for the development of various technologies including computer technology, aeronautical technology, and even filmmaking (development of certain camera lenses).
Objective of NASA
The fundamental objective of NASA is to work for the development of space science. NASA has a good track record of space exploration. In the upcoming eras since its inception, the space agency has successfully landed on Mars, experimented on various planets’ atmospheres, explored Saturn, Mars, Mercury, and even sent humans to the moon. A large amount of NASA’s spending plan goes to human spaceflight programs. For a large part of people in general, the most noticeable of these projects is the International Space Station, a forever manned, worldwide space research center in a low-Earth circle.
NASA is likewise attempting to send space explorers to the Moon and Mars through some programs. NASA leads aviation examination and assigns different space innovation improvement endeavors. Studies show that NASA gives the U.S. a wide scope of social and financial advantages. NASA Plans and leads various aeronautical and space exercises. It orchestrates cooperation by mainstream researchers in arranging logical estimations and perceptions to be utilized in aeronautical and space vehicles and directs or organizes the lead of such estimations and perceptions.
Creation of NASA
NASA was created largely as a reaction to the Soviet launching of Sputnik in 1957. Sputnik weighed 183-pound and was a basketball-sized satellite that orbited the earth in 98 minutes. It created a sort of gap in the American space research program. It can be regarded as the successor of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which established NASA. When it began operations on October 1, 1958, with an annual budget of $ 100 million.
Before NASA, America had launched the Explorer I; it was the first U.S. satellite to successfully orbit the earth. After the establishment of NASA, everything changed for the world of space science. It started the so-called space race. The space race was a series of competitions between the two global powers. it pretty much reached its climax when America landed the first man on the moon. Since then NASA has continued to make huge advances in space exploration. It has to be very helpful in the construction of the International Space Station.
Contributions of NASA
NASA is responsible for the invention of various items which has become part of our everyday life. All of these items can be handily found at our homes. Some of them are stated below –
- Adaptable Mattresses
It was initially made as cushioning to further develop crash insurance for carrier travelers. Presently it is utilized in beddings, cushions, and surprisingly in carnival rides.
- Camera Phones
During the 90s, NASA’s Laboratory researchers made a camera little enough to fit on a rocket without losing the quality. The innovation is currently utilized in 33% of all the cameras.
- Nike Air Shoes
The innovation utilized in Nike Air was initially produced for spacesuits. Previous NASA engineers protected his “blow elastic embellishment” innovation, which Nike used to permit sprinters to run on air. It is presently important for one of Nike’s top-selling shoes.
- Wireless Headphones
NASA created wireless headphones which allowed space explorers to communicate effectively without wires. Presently they have turned into the piece of our general public and it is beyond difficult to envision a world without remote earphones.
- Mouse
A NASA analyst founded the PC mouse during the 1960s as an approach to make PCs more intuitive by allowing the clients to have an interactive interaction with information on the PC screen.
- Infrared thermometers
The invention of infrared ear thermometers that can calculate body temperature without the need for actual patient contact, which can lead to cross-infection. It uses a similar technology created for surveying the temperature of far-off planets.
- Baby food formula
NASA fostered algae-based vegetable oil that has high dietary benefits and is utilized in practically every baby food item.
- Scratch-resistant lenses
The investigation into the eyeglass coatings that we underestimate was done at NASA’s Research Center to further develop space traveler helmet visors. During the 1980s, researchers applied the newly developed technology to eyeglasses, goggles, to provide protection and a vivid viewing experience.
- Portable Computer
NASA is responsible for the development of the first portable computer. It was used on various shuttle missions in the 1980s. The computer, nicknamed SPOC, was able to communicate with onboard equipment and was used to launch satellites from space shuttles.
Achievements of NASA
NASA has achieved a tremendous amount of achievements in over 60 years of its timeline. But two achievements are very important and different from the rest.
They are as follows –
- Hubble Telescope – It was developed with the collaboration of NASA and the European Space Agency in the 70s. It is more than a 2-meter space telescope. It is named after Edwin Powell Hubble, who discovered the expansion of the Universe in the 1920s. The Hubble Telescope is a very large reflecting telescope with mirrors gathering light from celestial objects. The light is then directed into two cameras and two spectrographs. It has a big primary mirror, a smaller secondary mirror, and different instruments that can detect different spectrums of light like visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. The telescope had its share of problems. The telescope was placed into orbit about 600 km (370 miles) above Earth in the 1990s.
- Moon Landing – This has been the watershed moment in the history of mankind. The United States is the only country in the world to have successfully conducted human missions to the Moon, the last of which left the lunar surface in 1972. Around 20-24 astronauts have landed on the moon. Commander Eugene Cernan is the last man to have traveled to the moon. The glorious moment fell on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. It took off from the Kennedy Space Centre at 9:00 am on 16 July. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, the space shuttle landed carrying Neil Armstrong. At 10:56 pm, the first man put his foot on the surface of the moon. With this achievement, the United States left Russia behind in the space race. At 5:00 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked, and on July 22 at noon, Apollo 11 began its journey home and landed safely in the Pacific Ocean at 12:50 pm on July 24. After the success of this mission; there have been five more successful lunar landing missions. The Apollo program was a costly affair, it involved some 400,000 engineers, 1000s of technicians, and scientists, and cost around $ 24 billion.
NASA Missions
Below are some of the biggest and most influential missions of NASA.
- Voyager – Voyager made the first flight around Uranus, where it discovered many new moons, and about the planet Neptune, it discovered that Neptune weighs less than astronomers thought. Voyager spacecraft have enough power left to send radio signals till 2025 and are now exploring the edge of our solar system. It is one of the most publicized missions of NASA.
- Cassini-Huygens – In 2004 it reached its goal, Saturn. Since then, it has been circling Saturn and taking some breathtaking photographs of the planetary rings, various moons, and weather. The Cassini planners had originally planned a four-year mission, from June 2004 to May 2008. The mission was extended for some more time till 2010.
- Chandra X-ray – In 1999, the Chandra X-ray scanned the sky in X-ray light and observed some of the most distant and strange astronomical events.
- Apollo- The flagship mission that catapulted NASA into new heights. The Apollo astronauts collected data that helped us learn the age of the moon, what it is made of, etc. it was a series of different missions starting in 1961 and reaching its climax in 1969 with the moon landing. It helped many other future missions also with its massive data. The moon landing remains the point of recognition for NASA worldwide and is an inspiration for many.
