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 81 - 90 of 494

September 21, 2022 Role Model Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Eileen M. Collins, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, was the first woman to be the pilot on a NASA space shuttle flight. She recently spoke with Air & Space Quarterly senior editor Diane Tedeschi.

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September 21, 2022 The Planet Detective Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Bruce Campbell is a senior scientist at the National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, where he studies the surface and subsurface geology of the moon, Mars, Venus, and the icy moons of the outer planets. 

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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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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 11, 2022 AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 7: Look at the Sky Story | AirSpace Podcast

Skywriting is something you might witness at the beach, or a sporting event, or an outdoor concert. A popular form of aerial advertising and even the occasional marriage proposal, skywritten messages can have a BIG impact (and with letters approximately 1500 feet tall… we mean that quite literally).  But maybe you didn’t know that it originated with the military and dates wayyy back to the early days of aviation in 1910. This episode will be your exhaustive look into everything you’d want to know about skywriting – how it works, who does it, the most popular examples, and even its code of conduct. And to learn all about it, we speak to a skywriting pilot whose family has been in the business since nearly the beginning.

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August 05, 2022 Faces of Our Planet Story

What connects you to the rest of the world? Photography exhibition Faces of Our Planet explores the human experience of living on Earth and how globalization impacts the cultural, community, and individual perspectives throughout different regions of the world.

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July 18, 2022 Roscoe Turner and Gilmore the Flying Lion Story

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a...lion?

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June 29, 2022 The Fastest Man on Earth Story

Learn about Glen Curtiss—who was at one time known as the fastest man on Earth.

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June 23, 2022 AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 4: Electricity Story | AirSpace Podcast

A decade ago it was pretty rare to see an all-electric car on the road. Now that you see them all. the. time. we wondered – what about electric vehicles in the *sky*? Several companies are working to overcome the challenges of all-electric flight, and it’ll likely be a long time before your commercial plane goes electric. But smaller, shorter-distance applications of all-electric air transport might be just around the corner. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Martine Rothblatt to learn how her company is working towards using electric helicopters to deliver the ultimate precious cargo -- transplantable human organs.

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June 22, 2022 Is There a Doctor in The House? Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Astronauts headed to Mars and beyond won’t be able to depend on Earth for a quick response in the event of a medical emergency.

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