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 51 - 60 of 283

September 21, 2022 Who is Houston? Story

If you've heard the famous line "Houston, we've had a problem," you may be wondering: just who exactly is Houston?

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September 17, 2022 Kathryn D. Sullivan: From Outer Space to Under the Sea Story | From the Archives

Beyond Kathryn D. Sullivan's years as an astronaut, she ventured into many other fields of work and study. Sullivan is a trained scientist with a Ph.D. in geology, who has conducted extensive oceanographic research on the floors of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. She has also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve (USNR) and as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator.

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September 08, 2022 AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 9: How Do You Sleep? Story | AirSpace Podcast

Sleeping in space goes back almost as far as there have been people in space (specifically, a cosmonaut who caught some shuteye in 1961). Astronauts have slept in capsules, shuttles, space stations, and even on the Moon. Sleep is an important part of an astronaut’s health, particularly for longer duration missions. But from noisy crewmates to spaceship sounds and even the sheer excitement of it all, sleeping in space hasn’t always been easy. To find out what it’s really like we speak with former astronaut Mike Massimino who relates his shuttle sleeping experience to a big slumber party.  We’re catching Zs in zero-G, today on AirSpace.

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August 25, 2022 AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 8: Let It Grow Story | AirSpace Podcast

In 1971 an Apollo 14 astronaut took about 500 tree seeds into orbit around the Moon. When he got back, those seeds were distributed, germinated, and planted all around the United States. And then… they were mostly forgotten about, even by NASA. That is, until the mid-1990s when a teacher at a Girl Scout camp in Indiana wondered what was up with this “Moon Tree” at her local camp. On this episode, we speak with the NASA planetary scientist who received her question, and as a result, started a database to track down the Moon Tree locations. Today, there are 67 known, living, first generation Moon Trees all over the United States – maybe even in your town!

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August 12, 2022 Seeing Earth Through Astronaut Eyes Story

Curator Jennier Levasseur explores how astronauts have looked down at Earth during missions ranging from Apollo to the International Space Station expeditions.

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July 20, 2022 Learning How to Work in Space: Buzz Aldrin and Gemini XII Story

Curator Michael Neufeld explores Buzz Aldrin's lesser-known mission: the Gemini XII mission.

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July 14, 2022 AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 5: Sisters of the Moon Story | AirSpace Podcast

It’s been nearly 50 years (!) since humans last walked on the Moon.  But NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions will soon return astronauts to the lunar surface. Artemis isn’t just about going back – it’s about science! So to answer all of our burning questions about what Artemis astronauts will do, where they will go, and what makes this all different from Apollo, we spoke to the Artemis science lead, Dr. Sarah Noble.

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June 16, 2022 RTX Living in the Space Age Story | Air & Space Quarterly

A new gallery shows how spaceflight transformed our relationship with technology.

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May 05, 2022 Conserving and Digitizing Alan Shepard’s Mercury Freedom 7 Suit Story

To tell the story of the first American in space, the Museum has conserved and digitized the Mercury suit Alan Shepard wore during the first American human spaceflight in 1961. The suit will be displayed in the new Destination Moon exhibition.

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April 06, 2022 How the Space Age Transformed Our Lives Story

To tell the story of the Space Age, the new RTX Living in the Space Age exhibition will share how the Space Age impacts the lives of people worldwide, through the stories of people and objects which brought it about. Learn more about the upcoming reimagined gallery.

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