Was NASA founded to explore the ocean? Viral video spreads rumours about NASA origin

Over the past couple of days, many people have been asking on the internet - was NASA founded to explore the ocean? The Google search results for this term have skyrocketed. Let's look into why people have been searching for the question - was NASA really founded to explore the ocean. 

What does NASA Stand for?

NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is a federal governmental organisation. NASA is responsible for the American government's space programs and research related to Space and aeronautics. It was founded in 1958 and replaced the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. 

Was NASA Founded to Explore the Ocean?

A social media video posted by an account called 'memes_to_click' shared a video related to NASA that went viral. The account has nearly 6,000 followers and the video went viral as users around the world shared it. In the video, there is black and white footage of a submarine underwater, and in the background, there is text and narration from an unknown person 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 this article, the video has over a million views and has sparked interest worldwide in the question of was NASA founded to explore the ocean. Most of the comments in the video were calling it out for being a hoax and fake, but the Google search results show enough people started to believe in the video. However, the video is clearly a hoax. Let's take a look into NASA's past. 

Why was NASA founded?

As per NASA's official website, NASA was set up in 1958 to conduct research in the field of aeronautics, which is the science related to the operation of aircraft and spaceships. NASA was established as a response to the Soviet space achievements which started the American-Soviet space race. On July 29, 1958, American President D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, bring NASA into existence. Here are the objectives of NASA, as per the Space Act. 

• The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;
• The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;
• The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies, and living organisms through space;
• The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes;
• The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere.

Image Credits: NASA Unsplash