Skip to main content
Reserve Free Passes
Donate

Search form

Visit

Visit

  • National Air and Space Museum in DC
  • Udvar-Hazy Center in VA
  • Plan a field trip
  • Plan a group visit
View of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center tower at sunset

One museum, two locations

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.

What's On

What's On

  • Events
  • Exhibitions
  • IMAX and Planetarium
Apollo 11: Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

At the museum and online

Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually.

Explore

Explore

  • Stories
  • Topics
  • Collections
  • On demand
  • For researchers
space shuttle launch

Dive deep into air and space

Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content.

Learn

Learn

  • Programs
  • Learning resources
  • Plan a field trip
  • Professional development
  • Education monthly theme
Women in Aviation and Space Family Day

For teachers and parents

Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are.

Give

Give

  • Donate
  • Become a Member
  • Wall of Honor
  • Ways to give
  • Host an Event
Bob Hoover Gives an Air Show Performance

Be the spark

Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts.

Card, Club, Pan Am "First Moon Flights"

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Explore
  3. Collection Objects
  4. Card, Club, Pan Am "First Moon Flights"
  • Download Image
  • Download Image
2 Images

This Pan Am "First Moon Flights" Club card, number 1043, was issued by the airline to Jeffrey Gates in the late 1960s. Gates acquired the card (as well as reservations for himself and his wife-of-the-future) when he was 20 years old.

Between 1968 and 1971, Pan Am issued over 93,000 “First Moon Flights” Club cards to space enthusiasts eager to make a reservation for the first commercial flight to the Moon. Issued at no cost to the reserver, the cards were numbered in the order they were issued. The Club originated from a waiting list that is said to have started in 1964, when Gerhard Pistor, an Austrian journalist, went to a Viennese travel agency requesting a flight to the Moon. The agency forwarded his request to Pan Am, which accepted the reservation two weeks later and replied that the first flight was expected to depart in 2000.

Stanley Kubrick’s “2001” (1968) indirectly promoted the stunt but Pan Am stopped taking Moon flight reservations in 1971 when financial troubles made it difficult for the company to keep up with new requests. The company declared bankruptcy in 1991.

Gates donated the card to the Museum in 2016.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details

Country of Origin

United States of America

Type

MEMORABILIA

Manufacturer

Pan American Airways Inc.

Dimensions

2-D - Unframed (H x W): 6.5cm × 9.2cm (2.6 × 3.6 in.)

Materials

Paper
Coating

Inventory Number

A20180010000

Credit Line

Gift of Jeffrey Gates

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use.

Stay up to date on the latest stories and events with our newsletter

Thank you. You have successfully signed up for our newsletter.

Error message

Sorry, there was a problem. Please ensure your details are valid and try again.

  • About
  • Newsroom
  • Support
  • Get Involved
  • Contact
  • Host an Event

National Air and Space Museum

6th St. and Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20560

202-633-2214

Open daily
10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Free Timed-Entry Passes
Required

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, VA 20151

703-572-4118

Open daily
10:00 am - 5:30 pm
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use