All Stories

Frank Borman was one of the great explorers of the 20th century. As commander of Apollo 8, he was one of the first three humans to leave low Earth orbit, travel into deep space, and orbit the Moon. Yet exploring space was not his dream. An Air Force officer, patriot, and ardent Cold Warrior, he wanted to beat the Soviet Union in the Moon race and played a central role in making that happen. 

Space is dangerous. And as long as we've been sending people into space, we've also been thinking about what we can do to make sure they're prepared for it, and make sure they will come home again.

As a physicist, engineer, entrepreneur, and astronaut, Franklin Chang-Díaz has made significant contributions to space exploration. Born in San José, Costa Rica, he developed a passion for science and space at an early age. He moved to the United States to continue his education and achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut and in 1980, NASA selected Chang-Díaz as an astronaut candidate, making him the first Latin American immigrant to become a NASA astronaut.

These companies are taking a faster, cheaper approach to landing on the moon 

A new book by NASA astronaut Tom Jones shares intriguing stories about the agency’s longest-running space exploration program 

The Peregrine test model is the first commercial lander in the Museum's collection 

Foam 331's new display at the Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center honors first responders 

One of the icons of the Museum was the black-and-white German V-2 ballistic missile. Ever since the building opened in July 1976, it stood in Space Hall, which in 1997 was revised to become Space Race. That rocket will return in a new guise, with green camouflage paint, when the hall reopens in a few years as RTX Living in the Space Age.

John D. “Danny” Olivas grew up in the border city of El Paso, Texas, across the Rio Grande from Mexico. Its population is now 81% Hispanic, the largest Hispanic population of any major city within the United States. Olivas and his extended family have been part of that vibrant community since his great-grandfather migrated from Mexico in 1894.

Instruments in the Smithsonian collection trace the story of how humans have explored the universe for thousands of years. Join us in taking a look at just a few examples!