NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is one of 10 NASA centers across the United States. Our work in science, engineering, technology and communications helps us determine the origins of life, preserve our way of living on Earth and understand our place in the universe. Our missions reveal crucial information about the universe, from the changes occurring here on Earth to the latest discoveries in the farthest galaxies. About half of our missions research the most important planet we know: our own. We seek to better understand Earth’s atmosphere, climate, ecosystems, and land and water surfaces. From lunar orbiters to missions to Mars, we explore the planets, moons and small objects within our solar system and elsewhere, and see how they change over time. We live in the extended atmosphere of a star.  Our missions explore the sun's effects near Earth, on the habitability of other planets, and on space at the furthest reaches of the solar system. Using space telescopes and other powerful instruments, we see the most distant galaxies and examine the phenomena taking place in the far reaches of the universe. Learn more.