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.

mars exploration

Anatomy of a Rover

science goals

Looking for Life Signs

touchdown

How We Land on Mars

A realistic, animated video shows the progression of Mars rovers from a small microwave-sized Sojourner rover to the SUV-sized Perseverance rover. The final frame shows a sample return rocket liftin off from the Martian surface.

Featured Missions

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

All Science Missions

Lunar Trailblazer

Launching in 2024, the goal of Lunar Trailblazer is to understand the form, abundance, and distribution of water on the Moon, and the lunar water cycle.

More about Lunar Trailblazer

NISAR

Launching in 2025, 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

3 spacecraft are shown on an equally spaced on orbit path above the earth showing the north america visible below.

GeoXO

GeoXO will advance observations of Earth’s weather, atmosphere and ocean for short-term forecasts and warnings and long-term planning for the effects of our changing planet.

More about GeoXO

Latest News

More Science News

Article

2 min read

This Thanksgiving, We’re Grateful for NASA’s Volunteer Scientists!

A group of smiling people in cold-weather gear and life jackets pose on a boat surrounded by icy waters. They are holding scientific equipment, including a plankton net and collection bottles, with yellow bins and an orange traffic cone visible in the foreground.

Article

5 min read

NASA Data Reveals Role of Green Spaces in Cooling Cities

As seen from space: Sanaa, Yemen, and surrounding regions, including an airport to the north and mountains on either side. The image is mostly brown and gray, with very little green space in or around Sanaa.

4 min read

NASA, JAXA XRISM Mission Looks Deeply Into ‘Hidden’ Stellar System

Article2 days ago

Image of a galaxy on the black background of space. The galaxy is a very oblong, blue disk that extends from left to right at an angle (from about 10 o’clock to 5 o’clock). The galaxy has a small bright core at the center. There is an inner disk that is clearer, with speckles of stars scattered throughout. The outer disk of the galaxy is whiteish-blue, and clumpy, like clouds in the sky. There are different colored dots, distant galaxies, speckled among the black background of space surrounding the galaxy.

5 min read

Hats Off to NASA’s Webb: Sombrero Galaxy Dazzles in New Image

Article2 days ago

A spiral galaxy seen directly from the side, such that its disk looks like a narrow diagonal band across the image. A band of dark dust covers the disk in the center most of the way out to the ends, and the disk glows around that. In the center of the galaxy, a whitish circle of light bulges out above and below the disk. Each end of the disk curves slightly. The background is black and mostly empty.

2 min read

Hubble Captures an Edge-On Spiral with Curve Appeal

Article5 days ago

Featured Story

NASA AI, Open Science Advance Disaster Research and Recovery

By Lauren Perkins When you think of NASA, disasters such as hurricanes may not be the first thing to come…

Read the Story

An image of Earth from space showing a hurricane forming over the ocean.

Evolution of a Martian

Since landing its first rover on Mars in 1997, NASA has pushed the boundaries of exploration with increasingly larger and more sophisticated robotic explorers. Each mission builds on the lessons learned from the Red Planet, leading to breakthroughs in technology and our understanding of Mars.

Learn more about Exploration on Mars

2025 NASA Science Calendar

Download our latest calendar and wallpaper backgrounds for your desktop or mobile device, and discover the fascinating science behind the images featured each month.

Download Options

This illustration depicts a cutaway of an ocean wave in sunset colors of pinks, blues, and purples. The wave sweeps up to the right, following the motion of luminescent pink, golden auroras on the horizon. The auroras curve upward through the sky, meeting up with a large bluish/purplish spiral galaxy in the upper left. On the far side of the galaxy is an exoplanet system and distant deep field galaxies. On the auroral path is Earth’s Moon, the asteroid Bennu, Mars, and Europa - all bodies in our solar system where water has been found. Above the horizon, the international space station hovers in the sky, while the Europa Clipper mission hovers near Jupiter’s icy moon. Molecular structures drift up from the ocean’s depths, becoming constellations once they reach the sky. They follow the auroras upward toward the galaxy, connecting life to the stars. A few meteors streak across the middle sky. Backlit by the setting sun, a NASA-funded research vessel sails in the foreground. Below the ocean surface, the vessel’s submersible explores the ocean’s depths. A ground-based observatory perches on a cliff on the horizon.

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).

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

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.

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

Eyes on the Earth

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

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