Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage conditions may apply

This is a box built and used by American rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard in experiments in 1916 to determine the amount of magnesium flash powder to be carried in an uncrewed rocket to strike the surface of the Moon to signal its arrival. At that time, it was unknown if radio signals could extend into deep space.

Goddard calculated that 2.6 lbs (1.2 kg) of flash powder was needed for the rocket to be "just visible" and 13.8 lbs (6.2 kg) was needed for the flash to be "strikingly visible." He wrote up the experiment treatise, "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" in 1919, which showed that if the rocket were developed and used stages, it was theoretically capable of a flight to the Moon. The box was donated in 1965 to the Smithsonian by Mrs. R.H. Goddard.

 Display Status

This object is on display in Destination Moon at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Destination Moon
Object Details
Date 1915-1916 Country of Origin United States of America Type EQUIPMENT-Test Manufacturer Dr. Robert H. Goddard
 Dimensions 3-D: 77.5 x 17.8 x 20.3cm (30 1/2 x 7 x 8 in.)
Display (display with door open): 78.7cm × 38.7cm × 24.1cm, 10.2kg (2 ft. 7 in. × 1 ft. 3.3 in. × 9.5 in., 22 1/2lb.)
 Materials Wood box; glass tubes; rubber stoppers and covered by wax; cotton; metal hinges, wires, switches, and other metal parts
 Inventory Number A19650313000 Credit Line Mrs, Robert H. Goddard Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.