NASA

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Wikipedia article on NASA:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an independent U.S. federal agency, was established in 1958 to oversee the nation's civil space program and aeronautics research. Succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), it was created with a distinct civilian orientation to emphasize peaceful applications in space science.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA has led America's most iconic space exploration efforts, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the historic 1968-1972 Apollo program missions that landed humans on the Moon, and the Space Shuttle program. Currently, it supports the International Space Station (ISS) and is developing the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon.

NASA's extensive science division utilizes advanced robotic spacecraft like Perseverance and sophisticated telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope to better understand Earth, explore the Solar System, and research astrophysics topics like the Big Bang. With a FY2022 budget of over $24 billion and roughly 18,400 employees, NASA maintains significant public visibility through its media and has profoundly influenced American popular culture since the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.