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 1 - 10 of 89

November 14, 2024 What Makes a Moon a Moon? Story

A moon is a planetary body that goes around another planetary body. Usually, this is one or more moons going around a planet, but it doesn’t have to be a planet. In Star Wars, the Death Star is not a moon because it isn’t a naturally occurring satellite: the International Space Station, the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter, or any of the telecommunications satellites we rely on in low Earth orbit are satellites, but are not moons.

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September 23, 2024 A Breath of Fresh Air Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Recent discoveries and news in aviation and space. 

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September 12, 2024 AirSpace Season 9, Episode 9: Birds of a Feather Story | AirSpace Podcast

It's a bird? It's a plane? Its a guy pretending to be a bird?? We have a very odd aircraft in the collection. 

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August 16, 2024 Is the “Dark Side of the Moon” Actually Dark? Story

This dark side is also known as the farside (and the side facing Earth is called the nearside). The phrase "dark side of the Moon" is used to refer to something mysterious or unknown. For most of human history we did not know what the farside of the Moon looked like. It wasn’t until 1959 when the Soviet Union launched the Luna 3 spacecraft that we got our first look at the farside.

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August 08, 2024 AirSpace Season 9, Episode 7: Lasso the Moon Story | AirSpace Podcast

Over six missions, the Apollo astronauts collected and brought back 842 pounds of Lunar samples. Who decides what rocks go where? And how did the National Cathedral get a rock to put in a stained glass window??

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July 09, 2024 AirSpace Season 9, Episode 5: X-Ray Vision Story | AirSpace Podcast

When the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launched 25 years ago, it showed us our universe in a whole new light (literally). 

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March 20, 2024 Lost and Found? Story | Air & Space Quarterly

What’s new in aviation and space. The latest on the search for Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra

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March 13, 2024 AirSpace Season 8, Episode 12: When the Sun Went Out Story | AirSpace Podcast

In 1142 a total solar eclipse with much the same path as the one coming up April 8. It was also the sign in the sky the Seneca needed to join the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, a representative democracy that would govern six tribes below Lakes Erie and Ontario.

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November 13, 2023 Remembering Col. Frank Borman (1928-2023) Story

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. 

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September 20, 2023 How Commercial Landers Are Changing Lunar Exploration Story | Air & Space Quarterly

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

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