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 91

spacesuit in case

July 17, 2019

"One Small Step for Man" or "a Man"?

Story | Apollo 50

Spacesuit curator Cathleen Lewis explains Neil Armstrong's quote appears the way it does in the case of Neil Armstrong's spacesuit.

Purple and pink logo of AirSpace

July 11, 2019

AirSpace Season 2|Ep.9
Walking on the Moon Part 2

Story | AirSpace Podcast

In part two of Walking on the Moon, we’re talking about the important science still happening with Apollo Moon rocks here on Earth a half-century later. 

astroanut in space suit climbs down LM ladder

July 08, 2019

How We Saw Armstrong’s First Steps

Story | Apollo 50

As we approach the 50th anniversary of humankind’s first steps on the Moon, our ability to reflect on those events is thanks in part to how the moment was shared with people around the world. The Apollo 11 mission was not the first time television signals returned from the orbit of the Moon, but the landing in July 1969 was by far the most important to get just right.

Portrait of a man

July 01, 2019

Abe Silverstein and the Race to the Moon

Story | Apollo 50

Abraham Silverstein (1908-2001), created and named the Apollo program and, most critically, pushed the adoption of liquid hydrogen as a rocket fuel for the boosters that launched Apollo. 

Lunar Lobate Thrust Fault Scarp

May 13, 2019

A Shrinking, Tectonically Active Moon

Story

Recent research conducted by the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter (LRO) team indicates that moonquakes on our Moon were caused by active lunar faults -- meaning that the Moon is currently tectonically active and that the moonquakes are a result of the shrinking Moon. 

Apollo 8’s trans-lunar injection, setting it on a trajectory to the Moon.

December 21, 2018

Photographing Apollo 8's Orbit Toward the Moon

Story

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.

Purple and pink logo of AirSpace

December 13, 2018

AirSpace Ep.19:
Spirit in the Sky

Story | AirSpace Podcast

In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick will unpack the often philosophical, sometimes spiritual reactions to viewing of Earth from above. 

Photo of the Earth rising in the sky with the Moon in the foreground

December 11, 2018

The Spirit of Apollo 8

Story

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. 

Purple and pink logo of AirSpace

October 25, 2018

AirSpace Ep.16:
Rocket Man

Story | AirSpace Podcast

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

Illustration of the InSight lander on the surface of Mars.

October 18, 2018

Six Space Missions to Watch For

Story

The next few months will also bring some exciting developments in space science. There are new missions about to launch and spacecraft that will reach their destinations after long journeys. Here are six out-of-this-world things to look for in the news over the next few months.