When NASA began 60 years ago, we had questions about the universe humans had been asking since we first looked up into the night sky. In the six decades since, NASA, along with its international partners and thousands of researchers, have expanded our knowledge of the Universe by using a full fleet of telescopes and satellites. From the early probes of the 1950s and 1960s to the great telescopes of the 1990s and 21st century, NASA scientists have been exploring the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to the present.
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, designed to detect primarily heat or infrared radiation, launched in 2003. Spitzer’s highly sensitive instruments allow scientists to peer into cosmic regions that are hidden from optical telescopes, including dusty stellar nurseries, the centers of galaxies, and newly forming planetary systems. Spitzer’s infrared eyes also allow astronomers to see cooler objects in space, like failed stars (brown dwarfs), exoplanets, giant molecular clouds, and organic molecules that may hold the secret to life on other planets.
Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted both by uncrewed robotic space probes and human spaceflight.
#SPACE
#universe
#nasa
#EXPLORE THE SPACE
#GALAXY
#SOLAR SYSTEM
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