Modernizing NASA Websites and Digital Services

A report required by the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA), P.L. 115-336

December 19, 2019
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Table of Contents 

Report to Congress on Modernization of Agency Websites and Digital Services 

Executive Summary ........................................................................................ 3

Background ................................................................................................................................. 3

Agency Efforts ............................................................................................................................ 3

NASA and IDEA ......................................................................................................................... 4

Key Websites and Digital Services ............................................................................................. 4

Modernization Priorities .............................................................................................................. 5

Future Design and Standardization ............................................................................................. 6

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 7
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Executive Summary 

As required by the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA), also known as Public 

Law 115-336, NASA is submitting this interim report to the appropriate Committees of Congress

in response to Section 3 (b)(2) of that law. This report also serves as NASA’s first annual 

response to Section 3(d)(2) of that law. As such, this report will be posted publicly on NASA’s 

website: https://www.nasa.gov/reports.

Background 

NASA’s mission is unique among Federal agencies. A key requirement of our core mission is to 

inspire Americans and to share the excitement and scientific knowledge of space exploration –

from the depths of Earth’s oceans to the farthest reaches of our universe. NASA’s use of 

websites to engage and inform the public is a critical part of the mandate set forth in U.S. statute 

51 U.S.C. § 20112, Sec. 203.(a)(3). This requirement in the National Aeronautics and Space Act 

of 1958, as amended, states that NASA must “provide for the widest practicable and appropriate 

dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof.” 

NASA’s digital portfolio spans a wealth of public information that encompasses the real-time 

excitement of events ranging from spacewalks on the International Space Station to Mars 

landings. NASA’s explanatory content puts complex science into plain language and captures 

the Agency’s rich and storied history. NASA servers also host massive archives of scientific 

data that represent a multi-billion-dollar investment in science and exploration for the benefit of 

all humankind.

NASA was an early adopter in the use of the Internet to communicate with the public and share 

science data, beginning in 1993. This has resulted in the development of a large number of 

websites over the last 26 years. NASA’s current digital portfolio is as complex and broad as the 

Agency’s missions. NASA has been participating in the Department of Homeland Security’s 

Cyber Hygiene program starting in 2014. This service has helped NASA gain insights to the 

publicly exposed information technology (IT) footprint for the Agency and vulnerability 

identification on those assets as new patches and configuration errors are identified. NASA 

peaked at 7,989 Internet accessible-devices early on, and 77,166 service ports available to the 

Internet, with over 6,000 of those being public web domains. In order to reduce risk and better 

manage costs of maintaining the devices and services with high risk exposure, NASA reduced 

the number of Internet-exposed devices to 1,651 and 3,355 service ports, with about 2800 being 

web domains. This was done through consolidation and improved managed service delivery.

Overall, NASA’s web modernization efforts are focused on preserving critical information and 

maintaining our charter of inspiration while creating a streamlined, 21st century digital portfolio 

worthy of the world’s greatest space Agency while protecting data with the evolving cyber 

security threat landscape. 

 

Agency Efforts 

NASA’s extensive digital portfolio was developed and is administered across our nine Centers 

and one Federally Funded Research and Development Center. The Agency currently has more 

than 2,800 web domains even though over 90 percent of the online traffic is geared towards our 
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top 40 sites. Over the last year, the Agency re-examined its digital footprint, online user 

experience, and the critical role of cybersecurity NASA implemented an Agency-wide mandate

to convert all sites to Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, a best practice to protect information 

shared between servers and end users. Over the last five years, many key sites received design 

overhauls and optimization. By early 2018, web teams began exploring the use of Accelerated 

Mobile Pages that deliver streamlined information to mobile users faster as well as developing

better writing and structure for Search Engine Optimization and ensuring optimal search results. 

Currently, the Agency is conducting a consolidation of social media accounts in an effort to 

streamline the distribution and quality of information. NASA began its digital modernization 

efforts years ago and will continue to work at improving its public content and user experience.

NASA and IDEA 

On May 15, 2019, NASA Administrator James Bridenstine issued an Agency-wide memo 

requesting “a full review of NASA’s Web footprint and digital presence . . . to result in an 

enhanced cyber-posture and an improved focus for communicating our messages.” The NASA 

Website Modernization Team (NWMT) was convened to conduct a review of the Agency’s 

digital footprint, provide recommendations to the Administrator and Agency senior leaders, as 

well as respond to the requirements of the IDEA Act. The team, led by the NASA Office of the 

Chief Scientist, is charged with recommending ways to reduce cyber vulnerabilities by 

strengthening digital security, analyzing website usability and user experience, eliminating 

redundancy, and finding ways to maximize the effectiveness of online communication. The 

NWMT is composed of 16 team members from NASA Headquarters, Goddard Space Flight 

Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, Ames 

Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

 

Key Websites and Digital Services

The NWMT has begun comprehensive analyses to recommend sites to be consolidated into 

modern platforms, eliminated, or archived. This digital consolidation will be accomplished 

through data-driven audits that will find synergies among the top websites and establish an 

archiving process and system for older websites with low usability but quality content (e.g., past 

missions). 

The NWMT will recommend a new modern NASA web structure and updated Agency 

governance policies that will maintain an active inventory of all websites, implement a 

repeatable process to approve new domains, ensure that site developers comply with applicable 

policies and security protocols, and archive websites at the appropriate time. 

NASA strongly believes in a digital-first approach to providing quality services and engagement 

with the public. An example of this is our one-stop-shop website where citizens will find 

opportunities to participate in challenges, prize competitions, and citizen science activities that 

develop solutions for problems related to NASA’s missions. This is available online 

at www.nasa.gov/solve. The NWMT surveyed other forms that NASA uses when conducting 

Agency business, such as contractor reporting, safety reporting, grant monitoring, medical 

reporting, and qualitative feedback for Agency service delivery. Many forms have already been 

digitized and can be signed electronically if a signature is required. The NWMT plans to 
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identify the existence of other possible non-digitized forms and ensure those forms are digitized 

and posted on the NASA public website for consumers, as appropriate. 

Modernization Priorities

NASA is in the process of a comprehensive review of key digital assets that effectively represent 

more than 93 percent of the Agency traffic. The extensive analysis will result in

recommendations for a streamlined, optimal digital presence that leverages the best of NASA’s 

websites. A concurrent review will map a process for preserving valuable historical data in a 

secure archive. This list includes websites that are more popular with our online audiences such 

as our main website, NASA.gov; websites about our recent missions and discoveries; climate 

change; images of our planet and solar system; and some of our websites for children and young

audiences.

Website/Digital Service Content

nasa.gov NASA’s primary web portal to share information 

and inspiration with the public

mars.nasa.gov Information and images about NASA’s Mars 

Exploration Program

apod.nasa.gov Curated space images with public-friendly scientific 

captions

spotthestation.nasa.gov Enables the public to find out when the International 

Space Station will pass over their city

climate.nasa.gov Public-friendly, data-driven information about 

Earth’s changing climate

solarsystem.nasa.gov A real-time encyclopedia of our solar system’s 

planets, moons, asteroids and comets, and NASA’s 

robotic exploration of them

earthobservatory.nasa.gov Images, stories and discoveries from NASA’s Earth 

science research

jpl.nasa.gov Information about NASA’s Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory and its role in space exploration

spaceplace.nasa.gov Science content developed specifically for 

elementary school children

science.nasa.gov Homepage of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate 

with details on the agency’s astrophysics, 

heliophysics, planetary and Earth science programs
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blogs.nasa.gov A public blogging platform that allows the sharing of 

agency expertise and knowledge

voyager.jpl.nasa.gov Mission homepage for NASA’s Voyager 1 and 

Voyager 2 missions, currently in interstellar space

history.nasa.gov Information, images and documents related to 

NASA and previous space exploration efforts

exoplanets.nasa.gov A complete catalog and public-friendly explanations 

of the 4,000+ planets discovered beyond our solar 

system

images.nasa.gov Public repository of NASA images and videos 

svs.gsfc.nasa.gov Public repository of NASA scientific visualizations, 

images and videos

eol.jsc.nasa.gov Public repository of NASA astronaut photography 

from the International Space Station

moon.nasa.gov Information, history and images of NASA’s 

exploration of Earth’s Moon

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov Repository of NASA images and videos for the 

public and science community

visibleearth.nasa.gov Catalog of NASA images and animations of Earth

intern.nasa.gov Details on how to apply for NASA internships

ciencia.nasa.gov NASA Science information for Spanish speakers

jwst.nasa.gov Mission homepage for the James Webb Space 

Telescope

Once the NWMT has completed its analysis, NASA will provide additional information to 

Congress along with an estimation of cost and completion date of the modernization efforts. 

Additionally, NASA will continue to meet the requirements of Section 3, subsection (d) in 

submitting follow-on reports to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget annually 

for an additional four years. These reports will then be posted publicly on NASA’s website at 

https://www.nasa.gov/reports.

Future Design and Standardization

The current audit that the NWMT is conducting and the new archiving process will lead to a 
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more streamlined NASA digital presence through the development of enterprise-wide principals, 

standards, and guidance.

Conclusion

Every day, NASA communicates groundbreaking and life-changing accomplishments in science, 

exploration, and discovery. As an Agency, our content is compelling, visually appealing, and 

reaches millions of Americans and people around the world, making NASA one of the bestknown and most popular organizations on the planet. As an international leader on digital 

content and a strong online presence, we must continually self-evaluate and ensure that we 

reflect NASA’s priorities and activities. We continue working to improve our presence on the 

web by minimizing cyber vulnerabilities through strengthened security, continually examining 

website usability and eliminating redundancy, consolidating as necessary, and maximizing the 

effectiveness of communication efforts. NASA’s newly established NWMT will make sweeping 

recommendations to ultimately redefine and enhance the Agency’s digital presence.