Stories of daring, stories of technological feats, stories of prevailing against the odds ... these are the stories we tell at the National Air and Space Museum. Dive in to the stories below to discover, learn, and be inspired. 

Showing 41 - 50 of 175

February 12, 2021 Lessons from Apollo 14 Story

The Apollo program should be remembered as much for landing the first humans on the Moon as it is for countless demonstrations of problem solving and ingenuity, of continual fine-tuning and honing of expertise, which enabled NASA to set even more ambitious goals with each successive mission.

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February 08, 2021 Small Steps and Giant Leaps in the Apollo Lunar Landings Story

The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 14 mission, which included the longest moonwalk without a rover, is a good time to show how traverses away from the lunar landers progressed from one mission to the next.

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January 08, 2021 George Robert Carruthers: Astronautical Engineer and Astronomer Story

Astronautical engineer and astronomer George Robert Carruthers, a name well-known and dearly regarded in the space science community, and a good friend of the National Air and Space Museum, passed away on Saturday, December 26 after a long illness.

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August 13, 2020 AirSpace Season 3|Ep.3
Mask, Gloves, Soap, Scrubs
Story | AirSpace Podcast

We’ve talked about planetary protection on the pod before, but it’s never felt closer to home than now, so we’re digging a little deeper into what it takes to keep our planet safe from space germs and keep space safe from Earth germs.

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July 24, 2020 Neil Armstrong’s Congressional Space Medal of Honor Story

Curator Margaret Weitekamps shares a new artifact to join our collection: the Congressional Space Medal of Honor awarded to astronaut Neil Armstrong.

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June 12, 2020 The Art of Alma W. Thomas: A Colorful Response Story

Carolyn Russo, curator of the Museum's art collection, reflects of the work of Alma W. Thomas.

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June 02, 2020 The Challenge Before Us: A Historical Reflection on 1969 and 2020 Story

On the same day that a commercially-built spacecraft docked with the ISS for the first time, cities across this nation experienced widespread protests sparked by profound racial disparities. The confluence of events drew comparisons to 1968 and 1969, when successful flights to the Moon occurred in the midst of a similarly fraught moment. Curator Margaret Weitekamp reflects.

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April 17, 2020 Restarting the Apollo 13 Command Module IMU Story | Apollo 50

Space historian Paul Ceruzzi looks at a less well-known detail of the Apollo 13 mission: the Inertial Measurement Unit, which was essential to ensuring the safe return of the astronauts after an explosion damaged the service module on the way to the Moon. 

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April 17, 2020 Reflecting on Apollo 13 Story | Apollo 50

Deputy director Chris Browne reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission.

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April 16, 2020 Conserving the Creativity that Saved the Apollo 13 Astronauts Story | Inside the Conservation Lab

Conservator Lauren Gottschlich explores the conservation work recently done on a replica of the altered lithium hydroxide filter used during the Apollo 13 mission.

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