All Stories

Charles M. Schulz and Walt Disney, the creators of some of the most endearing cartoon characters ever drawn, both found inspiration in the worlds of aviation and space.

The museum's ornate trophy recognizes valor displayed by the men and women of the U.S. Air Force.

Europa Clipper is soon to be on its was to the outer solar system to study one of Jupiter's most interesting moons. In addition to the really awesome science it will do, the spacecraft will carry a "message in a bottle" etched with your names and a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón.

Before we had access to stunning photos of our galaxy from ground- and space-based telescopes, visionaries like  Étienne Trouvelot's captured celestial magic through their art 

We’re extending our Hot Barbie Summer by looking back on this gem from season seven.

The healing power of art.

When Barbie first became an astronaut in 1965, she was more than a decade ahead of NASA sending a woman to space. Since then, there have been several versions of astronaut Barbie.

From Dante to Matt Damon, Percival Lowell to Perseverance, humans have long wondered about, studied, and eventually explored our closest planetary neighbor, Mars.

Sitting atop a pedestal in front of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is the abstract sculpture Continuum, 1976, by Charles O. Perry, known for his public art installations located at buildings, universities, and parks. Continuum is typically described as a Möbius strip, a star shooting through a black hole, a design inspired by geometry, or the continuous flow of the universe.

In 1969, nearly 600 million people tuned in to watch the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Four of these rapt viewers were a family of Indian immigrants in Delaware. Four months later that family was driving through Ohio and decided to stop and knock on Neil Armstrong’s parent's door.