All Stories

In this special episode recorded at SXSW, Emily, Matt, and Nick recount stories of failure and how they’ve inspired a whole lot of success in science and space exploration

This guest blog post by space artist Ron Miller explores the impact illustrator Chesley Bonestell had on his life, and recounts 50 years of telling Bonestell's story.

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.

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. 

AirSpace hosts give their take on First Man, the new biopic about the original Moon-walker Neil Armstrong. Spoiler – they land on the Moon.