As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) celebrates its 50th year, it continues to pursue one
of the most complex and exciting missions in the federal
government. With cutting-edge research in aeronautics,
space science, and earth science, NASA expands our
knowledge of the universe and applies these insights to
our daily lives. “We like to say we’re about pioneering the
future of space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics
research,” says Jonathan Q. Pettus, NASA’s chief
information officer. “What we do is about innovation and
exploration—and inspiration—in terms of the human desire
to explore and discover.” He adds: “We focus a lot on
human spaceflights, but many people probably don’t know
we have over 50 science missions. Aeronautics research,
scientific discovery, and human spaceflight are the major
themes within NASA. It’s what we’ve been about from our
earliest days.”