NASA Science Drives Exploration

The NASA Science calendar represents an annual opportunity to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future. As we honor America’s 250th anniversary, the NASA family has been thinking about how the
agency’s science missions are woven into the nation’s legacy of discovery and innovation, and how we continue to shape that legacy today to build a better future.

The spirit of exploration that is so synonymous with NASA, and with the American identity, has led to some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time. What we learn from NASA Science missions makes life on Earth better for everyone and protects astronauts by driving critical technology forward. Data from our missions and technology help inform decision makers and first responders today and help lay the groundwork for the future science and engineering industries of tomorrow. NASA missions even spur industries and practical applications we can’t yet imagine. Each mission builds on the foundation of those that came before; every discovery leads to new questions we seek to answer about our home planet, the universe, and our place in it.

Both curiosity and practical challenges drive science and have led NASA missions to every planet in our solar system and beyond. From repeatedly “touching” the sun and collecting critical data at the center of our solar system, to venturing to the furthest reaches of our solar system, our spacecraft are helping us better understand how matter behaves, how planets form, and how Earth’s many systems are interconnected.

For more information, visit https://science.nasa.gov/multimedia/2026-nasa-science-calendar/