About Friends of NASA

Image Credit: NASA’s Earth Observatory

Friends of NASA:
We are an independent non-governmental organization (NGO). 

Our Mission: 
We are dedicated to

building international support for peaceful space exploration, commerce, scientific discovery and STEM education.

Friends of NASA Motto:
"For the Benefit of All!"

FriendsofNASA.org celebrates over 2.5 million views!

Founded in 2008, Friends of NASA has over 23,000 professional members worldwide and 245,000+ public followers on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram combined. Our shared multimedia content has received over 700 million views (Google verified) and counting! 

Our public education work has been recognized by NASA's longest serving administrator, Dan Goldin (1992-2001), NASA's 12th administrator, Charles F. Bolden Jr. (2009-2017), NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL-Caltech), the United Nations, the American Physical Society (APS), the National Space Society (NSS), the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the National Science Foundation (NOIRLab), the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), the National Park Service (NPS), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), EUMETSAT, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the Canadian Space Society, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Popular Science magazine (founded in 1827), Women in Aerospace (non-profit), the government of the Republic of Singapore, Google (Alphabet Inc.), LinkedIn (Microsoft) and the University of The Bahamas.

Our membership includes international civil space agency officials, government representatives, engineers, scientists, aviation/aerospace/space professionals, business leaders, academics, graduate students, educators, science writers, and concerned private citizens of influence from over 50 countries around the world. Global leaders in the aerospace/space industries are represented.

Astronaut members include: 

Moonwalker Charles Duke (NASA), E. Michael Fincke (NASA),  Rick Mastracchio (NASA), Rick Hieb (NASA), Ed Gibson (NASA-Skylab), Scott Tingle (NASA), Charles Camarda (NASA), Susan Still Kilrain (NASA), Mike Fossum (NASA), Chris Hadfield (CSA), Robert Thirsk (CSA), Naoko Yamazaki (JAXA) [Japan's second woman in space], Soyeon Yi [South Korea’s first and only astronaut], Patrick Baudry (CNES), Claude Nicollier (ESA), Thomas Pesquet (ESA), Australian Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg (ASA), Citizen Astronaut Andy Sadhwani of SpaceX (Virgin Galactic Flight#7)

Friends of NASA was founded in 2008 by Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief, Dwayne Elliot Lawrence, in honor of the 50th anniversary of NASA’s establishment on July 29th, 1958 by U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower. 

Friends of NASA is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec in Canada close to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). We work in cooperation with government agencies and non-profit organizations, including the Canadian Space Society (CSS). 

We do not receive funding from NASA or the U.S. government.

Testimonials: 

"Your organization, 'Friends of NASA,' serves as a vital link between NASA, academia, and the private aerospace community."

—Joseph A. Sholtis

Founder & Principal, Sholtis Engineering & Safety Consulting 

" . . . From KSU, we thank you for your relentless pursuit of knowledge and dissemination of fascinating information to help us understand the small planet we inhabit in a much bigger picture."

—Professor Randall Nichols, Director GC Space Systems Operations (SSO), Kansas State University (KSU)

"Refreshingly rich in technical information and clearly written: This is quite rare these days. Thanks for the scholarship."

—Donna Parke (American Friends of NASA Follower & Member of the Public)

"These images are always amazing. Not even just the image. The total attention to detail. Composition. But also the hash data. All properly typeset. Just goes down smoothly altogether. Love it. Thanks."

—David Sinanan (Canadian Friends of NASA Follower & Member of the Public)

"Very informative."/"Very Helpful."

—Behrokh Beiranvand, Staff Scientist, University of Alberta (Canada)

International Specialties:

Space, Science & Technology Policy
Space Commerce Policy
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Education
Research
Space Advocacy
Human Resources

Founded in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government responsible for the country's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research.