CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — New NASA Administrator Bill Nelson talked to the workforce this afternoon, in his first State of NASA address since being appointed weeks ago. 

He pointed out his connection to the Space Coast, the goal to return to the moon, and upcoming science missions to study Earth and other planets.

"It's a passion that's been fueled by my family history," Nelson said.

The Melbourne native spoke of his family living on 160 acres where the current Kennedy Space Center sits, a century before it was built.

He reflected on his space shuttle mission more than 30 years ago, which launched from the very soil his grandparents had lived on long before.

"My grandparents homesteaded there, and they could never believe that a grandson was literally going to leave the face of the Earth," Nelson said.

Nelson talked about efforts to send robotic and human missions back to the moon via NASA's Artemis Program, and the goal of landing astronauts on the lunar surface by 2024, for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Nelson spent a good deal of time touting the Earth System Observatory, a series of satellites that will study our planet's climate, work to ward off natural disasters like hurricanes, effort to fight forest fires and help farmers with real time agricultural data.

"It's a 3D, holistic view from the bedrock to the atmosphere," he said.

The new administrator also praised the NASA workforce.

"It's you on the line that makes this possible," he said. "It's crucial this is now a top-down agency, where our workforce, every single one of you, is critical to the success of our missions."

The State of NASA was attended by many NASA dignitaries like newly appointed NASA associate administrator Bob Cabana, who was also a former longtime Kennedy Space Center director.​

"Thank you for what you are doing for NASA, our country, and God Bless You," Nelson said as he wrapped up his speech.

Nelson also announced two new missions to Venus — a planet the U.S. hasn't explored in more than 30 years.