Abstract.  High energy density science experiments are underway at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Initially focused on achieving thermonuclear fusion ignition in inertially confined targets, these experiments - called the National Ignition Campaign - have successfully demonstrated radiation temperatures required for ignition, the ability to control symmetry, and overall laser backscatter of less than 10%. These experiments are expected to culminate in the first attempt to demonstrate burning DT fuel in an inertially confined implosion. Meanwhile, planning has taken place for a program of basic science experiments involving the international science community that will use NIF to explore in new ways condensed matter physics, planetary physics, hydrodynamics, nuclear physics and nucleosynthesis, and high energy astrophysical phenomena. In this talk I will review the prospects for fusion ignition and studying astrophysical phenomena in the laboratory using NIF. Recent work in nuclear astrophysics, radiative transfer, and relativistic pair plasmas will be highlighted.