Discover how we're driving the Nation's scientific progress through world-class research across Earth and Space sciences at Goddard’s Sciences and Exploration Directorate.
Earth Sciences
The Earth Sciences Division is the nation's technical innovator and essential data provider to support national infrastructure, scientific leadership, and economic resilience.
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Astrophysics
The Astrophysics Science Division leads America's quest to answer our most profound scientific questions, developing technologies with transformative applications in medicine, national security, and intelligence.
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Heliophysics
The Heliophysics Science Division advances understanding of the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the solar system, providing the foundational science that drives space weather research and solutions in collaboration with government, industry, and academia.
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Planetary Sciences
The Solar System Exploration Division powers space missions and leads human space exploration to the Moon and Mars through revolutionary research that charts the frontiers of our solar system and deepens our understanding of planetary system formation and evolution.
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Liftoff! Returning to the Moon
We are one small step closer to returning to the Moon. A new chapter in human exploration began yesterday when NASA's Artemis II launched aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) from Kennedy Space Center. Carrying four astronauts, the Orion spacecraft's planned lunar flyby will be the first in over half a century. This historic test flight, echoing the legacy of Apollo while pushing beyond it, will carry its crew farther from Earth than any humans since 1972, looping around the Moon before returning home. During the approximately ten-day journey, Orion's systems--from life support to navigation--will be tested in deep space, while astronauts observe the lunar surface, including shadowed regions of the far side rarely seen with such perspective. After looping around the Moon, the astronauts will return to Earth, ending their journey with a Pacific Ocean splashdown.