The agency has been responsible for some of the greatest achievements in the history of space exploration and astronomy. But a rumor has emerged online that it was initially founded to explore the Earth’s oceans.
The Claim
The claim was made in a TikTok video posted to the platform by an account known as “memes_to_click,” which has nearly 6,000 followers.
In the video, black and white video footage of a submarine is accompanied by text and narration from an unidentified individual who says: “NASA’s original mission was searching the oceans. They will not tell us what they found, but their plans abruptly switched to getting us off this planet.”
At the time of writing, the video had been viewed more than 770,000 times while gaining more than 129,000 likes. It had also been shared more than 4,500 times.
While many of the comments appeared to be critical of the content in the video, Google searches for “was NASA made to explore the ocean” spiked after the video was published.
The Facts
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was opened in 1958, built on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which was set up to conduct research in the field of aeronautics—i.e. science related to the operation of aircraft—and other government organizations, according to nasa.gov.
NASA was established in the midst of the Cold War in response to early Soviet space achievements, such as the launch Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957—the Earth’s first artificial satellite.
On July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, formally bringing the agency into existence. Section 102 of the act included the following objectives, and more, for the new agency, according to history.nasa.gov.
The goals have changed little over the course of NASA’s history, despite the Space Act having been amended several times since 1958.
The Ruling
False
There is no evidence to suggest that NASA was founded to explore the oceans.
