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Sixty years after its birth, NASA remains a rare unifying force.
The Space Agency opened its doors on October 1, 1958, two months after its creation by the passage of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.
Over the next six decades, NASA has succeeded in inspiring people all over the country and around the world without being overrun by partisan politics or the conflicts and controversies that have affected other branches of the American government. . [NASA’s 10 Greatest Science Missions]
"NASA is one of the best – I hate to use that word, but I will say it – marks from this country," said John Logsdon, professor emeritus of political science and international affairs at Elliott School of International at George Washington University. Business in Washington, DC "This has projected a picture of the United States that is truly positive, and one that reflects the way we want to see ourselves – as a country of people who are accomplishing difficult things."
Regarding the activities of the US government, "NASA is much less controversial than almost anything else," Logsdon told Space.com. "There has never been, and there has never been, a lobby, an interest group, or an anti-NASA public group." At least, people say of NASA: "Yes It's a good thing. "And many people say," It's great, that's what we should be doing. "
Explore the heavens
The continued occupation of this rarefied air by NASA goes back to its founding document. The first objective of the newly created agency, as defined in the Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, is to "extend human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space. ".
Although the law directs NASA to maintain US leadership in space science and technology, it urges NASA to facilitate "cooperation with other nations and groups of countries as part of its results. . " [Celebrate NASA’s 60th Birthday with These Space Videos!]
And unlike most previous research in the United States and abroad, the military was not in the lead.
"The United States wanted to make it clear that our space program was a civilian effort and a scientific effort," NASA's chief historian Bill Barry said in a video released on July 29 by the space agency. .
This effort has been deemed fruitful. Only 11 years after its founding, NASA launched boots on the moon. A total of 12 astronauts walked on the lunar surface at the time of Apollo, and the Agency brought them all back to Earth safely.
NASA astronauts completed 135 missions between 1981 and 2011. Most of the flights were used to build or service the International Space Station (ISS), an orbital outpost that has been home to rotating astronaut teams since November 2000. NASA forces behind the ISS, a multinational effort involving more than a dozen partners from the start.
Pluto, seen by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during its epic flyover of the dwarf planet in July 2015.
Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI
And then, there are robotic exploration missions – far too many to be nailed here, even as a nude list. NASA spacecraft have studied the sun closely and visited all known or existing planets, from Mercury to Pluto, as well as asteroids, comets and dwarf planets. (Of course, many NASA spacecraft have also been studying their original planet since Earth's orbit over the years.) The agency has also installed a multitude of undercarriages and rovers on the moon and on Mars. [Destination Pluto: NASA’s New Horizons Mission in Pictures]
NASA's in situ exploration now extends into interstellar space: the far-flung Voyager 1 probe was released from the sun's sphere of influence in August 2012 and its twin, Voyager 2, is expected to do the same soon.
And we can not forget the many astrophysical missions – such as the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe and the Hubble, Chandra and Spitzer space telescopes – which have highlighted mysterious objects and reshaped understanding of astronomers of the structure and evolution of the universe.
Also on the astrophysical side: the Kepler space telescope has found about 70% of the 3,800 known exoplanets, and its recently launched successor, the exoplanet survey satellite in transit, could be even more prolific.
The discoveries made by all these missions have opened eyes around the world, as well as the superb photos delivered by Hubble, the spacecraft Saturn-orbit around Cassini and many other NASA probes.
The next 60 years
NASA will continue its groundbreaking robotic explorations in the coming decades. The cultural and societal influence of the agency could, however, decline as private space flights develop and begin to do great things in the flamboyant field of crewed exploration, said Mr. Logsdon. [NASA’s 60th Anniversarsy Puts Its History Office in the Spotlight]
These big things can include helping to create human settlements on Mars and other far-flung destinations, as do SpaceX and Blue Origin, run by billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respectively.
But NASA is also working to send humans into deep space, which the agency has not done since the return of the Apollo 17 astronauts from their lunar mission in December 1972. This initiative really began in 2004 with President George W. Bush Exploration's Vision for Space, which called on NASA to withdraw its space shuttle program by 2010 and put the boots back on the moon by 2020.
"We have not argued since overtaking Earth's orbit is the right thing to do," said Logsdon. "We were slow to do it, but there was no counter-argument."
NASA's current plan calls for the construction of a small space station in lunar orbit by the mid-2020s. The outpost, known as the lunar orbital platform-bridge, will serve as the starting point for missions on the moon's surface, both robotic as the crew. And, according to NASA officials, the skills gained during the construction and operation of the bridge will help humanity reach Mars, which the agency intends to do in the 2030s, in cooperation with international partners and commercial.
This trip to Mars could end up being the greatest adventure of the 21st century, an adventure that future generations will remember more clearly and with a reverence even greater than gray hairs here at Apollo missions.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
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