special report
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is responsible for the U.S. space program, including space travel, research and military aerospace programs. The agency was established in 1958.
Half of NASA's New Class of Astronauts Are Women
June 18 The new possible spacepeople were chosen from a pool of over 6,000 applicants
Why Humans Still Can't Go to Mars
May 31 It's not just the cost -- there's a big technical problem to solve.
Oops! This Lab Neglected to Return the Samples of Moondust NASA Loaned It
May 31 Something to make you feel better about those library books you still haven't returned
This Is What It Feels Like to Finally Reach Space
May 29 Smiles on the faces of all the astronauts last night as they boarded the International Space Station
'We're Trying to Portray the Universe as a Real Place With Real Landscapes'
May 28 The story of the scientists and artists who have given us our most beautiful pictures of space
NASA's 19-Gigapixel Filmstrip of the Earth from Russia to South Africa
May 21 A meditation on the diversity of Earth.
A Robot Just Broke the Human Record for Miles Driven in Space
May 17 Another victory for Opportunity, the spunky little rover driving on Mars
Awesome Spaceship that Discovered Hundreds of New Planets May Soon Be Space Junk
May 3 The Kepler spacecraft started its mission from Florida in 2009, but the it may not last much longer.
SpaceX Takes a Hit as NASA Chooses Russia’s Space Agency Instead
May 1 Blaming budget cuts, the U.S. space agency has inked a deal for Roscosmos to ferry six astronauts to the International Space Station.
What Became of the Parachute That Delivered Curiosity to Mars?
April 4 It sits on the Red Planet, flapping hauntingly in the wind.
Curiosity's Hit-and-Run Leads to Another Martian Discovery
March 20 Behold: "One of the whitest things" we've seen on the Red Planet
There Could Have Been Life on Mars
March 12 NASA's Mars Curiosity rover drilled into a rock and found that it contained a clay-like material.
Via the Moon, a theory of life on Mars
December 11, 2012 NASA captures, quite literally, gravity's rainbow.
Is there life beyond Earth? 'I think absolutely,' says NASA JPL Director
October 31, 2012 "We have the same laws of chemistry, physics. If there are any locations where there are the basic ingredients, there should be the basic ingredients for life."
Curiosity's cousins: Meet the rover fleet of the Canadian Space Agency
October 24, 2012 A fleet of vehicles ready to explore lunar and Martian terrains
Curiosity, the sequel: What's in store for NASA's next Mars lander
August 22, 2012 Planned for 2016, NASA's next mission to Mars will examine the planet's geophysics.
NASA is the government's one true viral hit factory
August 6, 2012 There are reasons the space agency is so popular on the Internet.
NASA announces $1.1 billion in human space flight contracts
August 6, 2012 SpaceX won a NASA contract worth $440 million to develop the next generation of space transportation vehicles.
Photo Gallery: Curiosity approaches Mars
July 31, 2012 Rover will inspect Mars' environment for minerals, gases and water.
