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The Goddard Visitor Center

Visit us to see exciting model rocket launches, hear informative lectures and watch the awe-inspiring "Science on a Sphere" exhibit.

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Contact Information

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Get in Touch with NASA Goddard

This page contains contact information, maps and driving directions to the Goddard Space Flight Center and its affiliated facilities.

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Robert H. Goddard

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Who Was Dr. Goddard?

Learn more about the American rocketry pioneer for whom the Goddard Space Flight Center is named.

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Featured Stories

    Goddard to Manage Upcoming Mars Mission

    Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission Artist's Concept of MAVEN, set to launch in 2013. Credit: NASA.
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    NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission that will provide information about the Red Planet's atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability in greater detail than ever before.

    Called the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, the $485 million mission is scheduled for launch in late 2013. The selection was evaluated to have the best science value and lowest implementation risk from 20 mission investigation proposals submitted in response to a NASA Announcement of Opportunity in August 2006.

    The principal investigator for the mission is Bruce Jakosky of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The university will receive $6 million to fund mission planning and technology development during the next year. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will manage the project. Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colo., will build the spacecraft based on designs from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and 2001 Mars Odyssey missions. The team will begin mission design and implementation in the fall of 2009.

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    Goddard's LaunchFest a Great Success



    A scene from the STEREO exhibit A scene from the "Walk on the Sun" exhibit about the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Thousands converged on Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. this past Saturday to celebrate LaunchFest. The predicted rain held off, encouraging approximately 13,000 people to visit the Center.

    Beyond food, music, and entertainment on the Mall, the day was filled with exhibits and demonstrations from Goddard’s many current and future missions. Kids of all ages were filled with wonder at the dozens of interactive activities that filled the many buildings open to the public.

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    > Share your LaunchFest experience with us!
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    NASA Study Illustrates How Global Peak Oil Could Impact Climate

    2003 map of world CO2 levels Satellites show sources and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide across Earth, measured here in 2003. High concentrations are shown in red and lower concentrations are shown in blue. Credit: NASA
    The burning of fossil fuels -- notably coal, oil and gas -- has accounted for about 80 percent of the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide since the pre-industrial era. Now, NASA researchers have identified feasible emission scenarios that could keep carbon dioxide below levels that some scientists have called dangerous for climate.

    When and how global oil production will peak has been debated, making it difficult to anticipate emissions from the burning of fuel and to precisely estimate its impact on climate. To better understand how emissions might change in the future, Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York considered a wide range of fossil fuel consumption scenarios. The research, published August 5 in the American Geophysical Union's Global Biogeochemical Cycles, shows that the rise in carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels can be kept below harmful levels as long as emissions from coal are phased out globally within the next few decades.

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    2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season Kicking Into High Gear

    Satellite image of Atlantic storms This GOES satellite image shows Gustav (over Texas), Hanna (in the Bahamas), Ike and Josephine (both over open water). Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project
    For the first time in the 2008 hurricane season, there were four tropical cyclones active in the Atlantic Ocean basin on one day, September 2. September is considered the peak of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, and in the first week of the month, forecasters watched four cyclones.

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    Visit the AMASE 2008 Blog Site

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    > Read the daily blog from AMASE 2008

News Archive

LaunchFest Photo Gallery

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    LaunchFest Photo Gallery

    On September 13, 2008 NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center opened its gates to the public for a FREE open house.

LaunchFest Video

Featured Multimedia

NASA's Hurricane Site

Return to Hubble

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    Hubble Servicing Mission 4

    Read about the upcoming Servicing Mission 4, scheduled to be the last time astronauts visit the Hubble Space Telescope.

SM4 on the Web

Going on at Goddard

    Latest Issue of the
    Goddard View

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    Goddard View, Vol. 4 Issue 15

    Goddard View showcases people and achievements at Goddard that contribute to transforming human understanding of Earth and space through innovation, exploration and discovery.
Newsletter archives

Goddard on WETA

Goddard in HD

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    Hi-Def Video

    View, download and order high-definition video and animations from the Goddard Space Flight Center.

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