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NASA

American  
[nas-uh] / ˈnæs ə /

noun

  1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration: the federal agency that institutes and administers the civilian programs of the U.S. government that deal with aeronautical research and the development of launch vehicles and spacecraft.


NASA British  
/ ˈnæsə /

acronym

  1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What is NASA? NASA is short for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a civilian agency of the United States government that specializes in space exploration and research about flight and aircraft. Aeronautics is the science of flight. Although NASA is most known for space travel and research, it also researches things like supersonic flight, energy-efficient aircraft, and drones. Over the years, NASA has advanced space exploration and made many contributions to science. Its notable programs and missions have included astronaut moon landings, Mars rovers, satellites around planets, and interstellar telescopes. One of NASA’s earliest and most famous programs was the Apollo program, which put the first person on the moon on July 20, 1969. NASA runs numerous missions and programs at its facilities across the United States.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On Tuesday, Nasa said companies including Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines, and Astrobotic have been awarded the contracts to build the machines.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

Next, Nasa wants to build nuclear and solar power facilities on the Moon, including fission reactors.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

In March, Nasa announced a $20 billion programme to construct a permanent base powered by nuclear and solar energy at the Moon's south pole by 2032.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

It features dozens of upgrades designed for rapid launches of the firm's Starlink satellites and Nasa missions to the moon.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

In the operations room, screens showed the Nasa livestream while the team listened to the capsule's radio feed.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

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