NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., houses the higher-ups responsible for charting the space agency's course and implementing its vision. For the record, that vision is: "To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind."

Former space shuttle commander Charlie Bolden has headed NASA since 2009, when he became the first African-American to lead the agency on a permanent basis. NASA's deputy administrator is Lori Garver, who served as the chief civil space policy adviser for President Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

NASA HQ is located at Two Independence Square, a building in a complex at 300 E Street SW in the nation's capital. It oversees activities conducted at the agency's 10 field centers and a variety of installations scattered around the country.

Headquartersis divided into three main organizations, which the agency calls mission directorates. These directorates are Aeronautics, Human Exploration and Operations, and Science. [Giant Leaps: Top Milestones of Human Spaceflight]

Aeronautics

NASA isn't just about spaceflight and space science, as its full name the National Aeronautics and Space Administration makes clear.

The Aeronautics Mission Directorate works to make air travel smoother and safer. The directorate has three main goals, according to its website: 1) Improve gate-to-gate mobility in the nation's commerical air transportation system; 2) Reduce aircraft noise, emissions and fuel use, as well as the overall environmental impact on communities surrounding airports; and 3) Maintain or improve aircraft safety.

Aeronautics research takes place at four of NASA's 10 centers: Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.; Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio; and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

Jaiwon Shin leads the Aeronautics Mission Directorate, which received $551 million in the White House's budget requestfor fiscal year 2013 (out of a total NASA allocation of $17.7 billion).

Human Exploration and Operations

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NASA Headquarters: Facts and Information