All Stories

Capt. James A Lovell, Apollo 8 astronaut, shares his memories of that historic mission at our Spirit of Apollo, 50th anniversary celebration.

The moment of humankind's first voyage to the Moon and back was captured in a series of photos taken by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observing Station in Maui, Hawaii. They show the trans-lunar injection rocket burn which sent Apollo 8 hurtling out of Earth orbit toward the Moon on December 21, 1968–perhaps the only such images that exist.

Fifty years ago, humans orbited the Moon for the first time. On Christmas Eve, the astronauts addressed the nation on a live television broadcast to Earth.

As we celebrate the anniversary of the pioneering Apollo 8 mission, many commentators and news stories will assert that NASA sent Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders to the Moon to beat the Soviet Union. In fact, the Soviets were planning to send two cosmonauts to loop around the Moon, but that statement of the agency’s intent is, at best, half true.

Emily, Matt, and Nick give a download on why meteor showers occur, when’s the best time to watch, and what you’re looking at (spoiler: most meteors are A LOT smaller than you think).

As the Museum kicks off its massive project to reimagine Air and Space, many of the objects in our collection will be moved from their current location on the National Mall. The first objects on that list were also some of the most iconic in our collection: Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 and Gene Cernan’s Apollo 17 spacesuits.

In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick will unpack the often philosophical, sometimes spiritual reactions to viewing of Earth from above. 

December 21-27, 1968: the Apollo 8 crew of Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders journeyed to the Moon, into lunar orbit, and back to Earth. 

After 32 years, the gallery will close on December 3 as the Museum embarks on a years-long project to revitalize our infrastructure and transform our exhibitions. What better time to take a look back at the early days of the exhibit and how it came together?

The InSight lander, designed to study the interior of Mars, is the latest in a history of NASA lander and rover missions that goes back to the 1970s.