NASA Science

NASA Science seeks to discover the secrets of the universe, search for life elsewhere, and protect and improve life on Earth and in space.

August Meteor shower

Prepare for Perseids

Celebrating 25 years

Chandra X-ray Observatory

Exploring Jupiter's Ocean World

Europa Clipper Launch
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie, made up of 62 individual images, on July 23. A rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls,” which has features that may bear on the question of whether the Red Planet was long ago home to microscopic life, is to the left of the rover near the center of the image.

NASA Science is Delivering

NASA Science is delivering: every second of every day, of every week, of every year. 2024 is proving to be yet another year of exceptional scientific discovery and achievement. From soft landing back on the Moon a few months ago, to celebrating the Heliophysics Big Year and a Total Solar Eclipse in the contiguous United States, to receiving stunning imagery from James Webb, NASA Science is as busy as ever. Recently launched earth science missions are also providing us unprecedented views of our planet and incredible insight into the health of our oceans and atmosphere, and helping decision-makers improve lives on Earth and safeguard our future. And we are charting a new, sustainable path for Mars Sample Return.
 
Looking ahead, we have many exciting launches on the horizon. At NASA, we are fortunate that our science and exploration endeavors are inextricably linked and help us discover and innovate for the benefit of humanity. Together, we explore to advance scientific understanding. Ultimately, exploration enables science, and science enables exploration.
 
The NASA Science team is continuing to deliver for the benefit of all.

Read Nicky Notes
Dr. Nicky fox casually chats with undergraduate students over coffee in a laboratory at the University of Delaware. Students take notes in front of a whiteboard while seated around Dr. Fox.
Dr. Nicola (Nicky) Fox, the Associate Administrator (AA) for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) for NASA, visited the University of Delaware to discuss the scientific missions being undertaken by the SMD and to visit with various groups on campus. Pictured: Dr. Fox visiting with Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy Ben Maruca and students in the Delaware Space Observation Center (DSpOC).

Featured Missions

Our mission milestones showcase the breadth and depth of NASA science.

All Science Missions
Artist Rendering of NISAR

NISAR

Launching in September 2024, NISAR will systematically map Earth and study changes to ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice in fine detail, as climate change warms the air and ocean.

More about NISAR
Artist's rendering of NASA's Europa Clipper

Europa Clipper

Launching in October 2024, Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.

More about Europa Clipper
Artist's concept of the Lucy orbiter with its distinctive round solar panels as it flies past a Trojan asteroid near Jupiter.

Lucy

Launched in October 2021, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by three asteroids in the solar system’s main asteroid belt, and by eight Trojan asteroids that share an orbit around the Sun with Jupiter.

More about Lucy

Latest News

More Science News
Article
2 min read

Hubble Images a Classic Spiral 

A spiral galaxy with three prominent arms wrapping around it. The galaxy holds plenty of extra gas and dark dust between the arms. There are shining blue points throughout the arms and some patches of gas out beyond the galaxy’s edge, where stars are forming. The center of the galaxy also shines brightly. It is on a dark background where some small orange dots mark distant galaxies.
Article
4 min read

NASA’s Fermi Finds New Feature in Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Yet Seen

Illustration of a particle jet emerging from a dying star
NASA intern Lena Young leans against a red NASA sign in front of NASA's Earth Information Center.
3 min read

Meet NASA Interns Shaping Future of Open Science

Article2 days ago
This image shows the exoplanet Epsilon Indi Ab. The image is mostly black, with blue scale-like features apparent in the central region of the image. At the center of the image, there is a black circle, and in the center, a symbol representing a star. This black circle blocks the light from the host star. To the lower left of the circle is a fuzzy bright orange circle, which is the exoplanet.
6 min read

NASA’s Webb Images Cold Exoplanet 12 Light-Years Away

Article3 days ago
ICON, shown in this artist’s concept, studied the frontiers of space, the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.
5 min read

NASA’s ICON Mission Ends with Several Ionospheric Breakthroughs

Article3 days ago
Featured Story

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock

The six-wheeled geologist found a fascinating rock that has some indications it may have hosted microbial life billions of years…

Read the Story
registration is open!

2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge

NASA invites a global community of innovators, technologists, storytellers, and problem solvers to register for the 2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge, the largest annual global hackathon. The annual event, held this year on October 5-6, fosters innovation through international collaboration by providing an opportunity for participants to utilize NASA’s free and open data and space-based data from space agency partners.

More about the 2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge
A montage showing several participants in NASA's Space Apps Challenge.
Featured Video

NASA Science Live: Climate Edition - Rising Heat

From soaring temperatures affecting agriculture and the ocean, to the escalating frequency and intensity of heat waves, the challenges posed by rising temperatures across our planet’s interconnected systems have far-reaching impacts.

Learn more about Climate Change

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3430

This Hubble Space Telescope image treats viewers to a wonderfully detailed snapshot of a galaxy that lies 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.

Read more about this image

Hubble Images a Classic Spiral 

A spiral galaxy with three prominent arms wrapping around it. The galaxy holds plenty of extra gas and dark dust between the arms. There are shining blue points throughout the arms and some patches of gas out beyond the galaxy’s edge, where stars are forming. The center of the galaxy also shines brightly. It is on a dark background where some small orange dots mark distant galaxies.
SCience

By the Numbers

Science is interconnected; no important question stands alone. The Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is an organization where discoveries in one scientific discipline have a direct route to other areas of study. This flow is something extremely valuable and is rare in the scientific world.

Learn More about Science by the Numbers
A complex info graphic with text, numbers, icons on a dark blue background laid out in a circular design
earth information center

Explore our changing planet

Earth is our home, shared with millions of species. Rapid changes like rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather are transforming our planet. For over 50 years, observations from space and ground have monitored these changes, guiding critical decisions in areas like agriculture and air quality. By understanding how our actions affect Earth's systems, we can help mitigate these impacts. Discover more about how you can make a difference in safeguarding our planet.

Visit the Earth Information Center
Animated GIF of Spacecraft Over Earth
Eyes on the Earth

Lunar Discovery and Exploration

NASA scientists are focused on studying Earth’s Moon, which holds keys that will unlock a deeper understanding of our planet, solar system, and the origins of life.

Learn more about Lunar Discovery and Exploration

What's out there?

A rendered image of the Moon in color. Shades of blue, green, and yellow highlight topographical features, whereas blue represents gravitational anomalies.

Planetary Processes

We’re studying geological processes that have been occurring on the Moon since its inception.

A scientist in a safety suit kneels on a bed of simulation regolith and takes measurements from the soil using an instrument that pierces the surface.

Volatile Cycles

We have much to learn about the elements and chemicals that make up our Moon.

A rendering of the Moon in the foreground, with a larger Earth behind it.

Impact History

The impact history of the Earth-Moon system provides a historical record of our entire solar system.

The Apollo 14 Lunar Module on the surface of the Moon. A small American flag and small antenna are planted a few feet away. In the background, the Sun creates a bright flare.

Record of the Ancient Sun

We can learn about the Sun by studying its effects on the Moon.

Plants growing in small test tubes under growing lights. They are growing in lunar regolith.

Biological Systems on the Moon

We’re studying the extreme lunar environment to determine its effects on biological systems.

A color map of the Moon. The varying colors represent gravitational pull in each area. The map is a mixture of yellows, greens, blues, and reds.

Physical Sciences on the Moon

The unique gravity properties of the Moon will inform efforts to study and inhabit its environment.

View of Moon limb with Earth on the horizon,Mare Smythii Region. Earth rise. This image was taken before separation of the LM and the Command Module during Apollo 11 Mission.

Platform to the Solar System

The Moon provides scientists with a platform for studying the entire solar system.

Dive Deeper

An artist’s concept of a landscape. The concept is composed of dusky purples, oranges, golds, and greens. In the left foreground, a young woman wearing a white dress basks in the rays of a solar eclipse. She stands under a bright orange fall tree rooted to the side of a rocky mountain trail. The scene overlooks a valley with a river running through the middle towards distant hazy blue mountains. Nocturnal animals – including a fox, owl, possum, and bat – emerge to investigate the sudden onset of night. A deer stands on a grassy knoll at right in front of a line of fall colored trees. The Milky Way trails across the sky, leading up from the young woman to the eclipse and glittering stars at top right. Two hot air balloons float in the distance. This concept was created in celebration of the Heliophysics Big Year, which is bookended by the Annular Eclipse in October of 2023 and the Total Solar Eclipse in April of 2024. It also serves as the cover of the 2024 NASA Science Planning Guide.

SMD Community Town Hall Meetings

View upcoming and past community town hall meetings.

Town Hall Meetings

NASA Science Strategy

Our science strategy articulates a forward-thinking vision and presents a comprehensive, cohesive and long-term roadmap for all NASA activities.

Science Strategy

People of NASA Science

Meet the individuals who are instrumental in enabling the realization of NASA Science’s extraordinary mission.

People of Science

NASA Science Careers

Discover career opportunities at NASA Science, where innovation, growth and collaboration shape the future of scientific exploration.

Science Careers
Keep Exploring

More about NASA Science

Science Missions

Hubble floating above Earth

Science News

Red dual opposing jets coming from young stars fill the darker top half of the image, while a glowing pale-yellow, cave-like structure is bottom center, tilted toward two o’clock, with a bright star at its center. See extended description for more.

Science for Everyone

A person looks through a telescope. There is a large solar filter blocking the front of the telescope.

For Researchers