Fact Check: Did NASA Stop Ocean Exploration in 1978?

January 20, 2026 | 12:01 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of posts on Instagram [archive], Facebook, and TikTok claim that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stopped exploring the oceans in 1978. The narrative suggests that NASA is now solely focused on space missions after diverting all its resources from ocean exploration.

The posts allege that NASA abruptly halted exploration after only monitoring about five percent of the ocean's surface. "Why did they stop diving so deep? What did they find that scared them," the post's creator wrote.

However, is it true that NASA stopped ocean research in 1978 after discovering something frightening?

FACT CHECK

Tempo verified this narrative by examining various authoritative sources. From the beginning, the United States government established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with the primary mission of strengthening space technology. However, this agency continued to conduct ocean research as part of its efforts to compare the physical conditions of Earth with other planets.

Purpose of NASA's Establishment

The National Museum of Flight website notes that America initially established an independent agency called the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1915 to research aviation. The United States government then renamed the committee NASA on October 1, 1958, to compete with the Soviet Union's space technology, which had previously launched the Sputnik spacecraft during the Cold War.

Time reports that NASA's establishment was based on the National Aeronautics and Space Act. This law mandated NASA to research aviation issues within and beyond the Earth's atmosphere, as well as other strategic objectives, including curbing research competition between the armed forces. NASA serves as a research center that unites various United States military research units that previously developed jet and satellite technology separately.

The Encyclopedia Britannica explains that neither NACA nor NASA has a specific mission for undersea exploration. Since their inception, these agencies have focused their resources on space exploration through iconic missions such as Apollo, Viking, Mariner, Voyager, and Galileo.

NASA Ocean Research

In carrying out its mission, NASA also researches the oceans to support the development of space technology. In 1978, the agency launched a special satellite to monitor the condition of Earth's oceans. The satellite's task was to measure the spacecraft's height above sea level, as well as wind speed and direction.

This satellite's capabilities included measuring sea surface temperature, identifying cloud and land features, and monitoring global surface wave fields and polar ice conditions. NASA studied polar ice caps as a reference for exploring similar conditions on other planets.

A Reuters fact-checker reported that NASA conducted a joint mission in 2018 to observe the interactions of microscopic organisms in the deep sea. The deep sea is the area below the water's surface where light penetration fades rapidly, starting at a depth of 200 meters (approximately 656 feet).

CONCLUSION

Tempo's verification concluded that the narrative that NASA halted deep-sea exploration in 1978 due to fears of certain findings is a misleading claim.

TEMPO FACT CHECK TEAM

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